Beech BE-200 accident near Detroit, Michigan, December 21, 1983
On December 21, 1983 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Beech BE-200, registered N90DF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Detroit, Michigan (Detroit City airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 21, 1983 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Detroit, Michigan · Detroit City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-200
- Registration
- N90DF · no longer on the register · serial BB-633
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE RECEIVING VECTORS FOR AN ILS APCH, THE ACFT ENCOUNTERED RIME ICING CONDITIONS. THE LEFT WINDSHIELD BEGAN ICING OVER & WOULD NOT CLEAR WHEN THE PLT ADJUSTED THE WINDSHIELD HEAT FROM NORMAL TO HIGH. SINCE THE AUTOPILOT WAS ENGAGED, HE MOVED TO THE RIGHT (COPILOT'S) SEAT. AFTER TURNING INBOUND ON THE LOCALIZER, HE DISENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT. PRIOR TO REACHING THE OUTER MARKER, HE CYCLED THE DEICE BOOTS & NOTICED THAT THE WING BOOTS CYCLED PROPERLY. WHILE ON SHORT FINAL WITH 60% FLAPS & 130 KTS, A SINK RATE DEVELOPED. THE PLT APPLIED POWER & THE SINK RATE DECREASED MOMENTARILY, THEN BEGAN INCREASING AGAIN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT LANDED HARD ABOUT 125 FT SHORT OF THE RWY. IT THEN ROLLED ONTO THE RWY & SKIDDED OFF THE RIGHT SIDE INTO A SNOW COVERED AREA. THE ACFT RECEIVED WING & ENG DAMAGE DURING THE OCCURRENCE. A POST-ACCIDENT EXAM REVEALED THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD WAS COVERED WITH ICE & APPX 1/2 INCH OF ICE REMAINED UNBROKEN ON THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. THE STABILIZER DEICE BOOTS WERE CYCLED & FUNCTIONED PROPERLY.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,428 hours in all; 467 in this make and model; 348 in the last 90 days; 4,314 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,619 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 26, 1983; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-41 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aviex Jet, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: HOU Houston TX at 3:18 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 15, 5,019 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft; not recorded at 600 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from DET
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.