Beech G-18S accident near Belleville, Michigan, October 24, 1984
On October 24, 1984 at about 5:28 pm local time, a Beech G-18S, registered N3281T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Belleville, Michigan (Willow Run airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- October 24, 1984 · about 5:28 pm local time
- Place
- Belleville, Michigan · Willow Run · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech G-18S · all G-18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N3281T · no longer on the register · serial BA-611
- 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
AFTER REACHING 75 KTS ON TAKEOFF ROLL, THE ACFT GROUND LOOPED TO THE LEFT, SHEARING THE MAIN LANDING GEAR IN SIDE OVERLOAD. PLT STATED LEFT GEAR SEEMED TO BE DRAGGING. INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-EXISTING BRAKE/WHEEL MALFUNCTION OR 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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,845 hours in all; 168 in this make and model; 308 in the last 90 days; 2,665 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 9,700 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: YIP Belleville MI at 5:28 pm
- Destination: Toronto
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 32, 6,914 ft by 160 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:27 pm from YIP
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N3281T 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.