Beech B-18S accident near Bellesville, Michigan, December 19, 1984
On December 19, 1984 at about 10:30 am local time, a Beech B-18S, registered N51FG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bellesville, Michigan (Willow Run airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 19, 1984 · about 10:30 am local time
- Place
- Bellesville, Michigan · Willow Run · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech B-18S
- Registration
- N51FG · registry record · serial BA324
- 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
THE PLT STATED THAT JUST AFTER LIFT OFF THE ACFT VEERED TO THE LEFT GOING OFF THE RWY STRIKING THE GROUND. INVESTIGATIONREVEALED THAT THE PLT IN THE LEFT SEAT WAS RECEIVING TRAINING & BOTH PLTS WERE AT THE CONTROLS. THE ACFT ENG & AIRFRAME WERE INSPECTED & DISCLOSED NO PREIMPACT FAILURE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all; 535 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 2,850 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,374 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 26, 1984; 218 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Active Aero
The flight
- Departed from: Belleville MI at 10:29 am
- Destination: SHV Shreveport LA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 6,511 ft by 160 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,100 ft; not recorded at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:29 am from YIP
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N51FG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.