Beech 23 accident near Tomahawk, Wisconsin, September 5, 1996
On September 5, 1996 at about 4:40 am local time, a Beech 23, registered N2338Z, was destroyed in an accident near Tomahawk, Wisconsin (Tomahawk Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the student pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to alcohol which led to his initiation of VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and loss of control. Factors were: the dark night and the weather conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 5, 1996 · about 4:40 am local time
- Place
- Tomahawk, Wisconsin · Tomahawk Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 23 · all 23s on the register
- Registration
- N2338Z · no longer on the register · serial M-32
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot took off from Tomahawk Regional airport at 2330. A witness heard an airplane take off, and a short time later, he heard the airplane flying along the runway. At 2340, the witness heard the airplane impact the trees. The witness went outside to search for the airplane but said he could not find it because of the dense fog in the area. During the course of the investigation, no mechanical failures nor malfunctions of the airframe, powerplant, or flight controls were discovered. The pilot's toxicological examination showed that 121.000 mg/dl ethanol was detected in the blood, 135.000 mg/dl ethanol was detected in the brain fluid, and 172.000 mg/dl ethanol was detected in the urine fluid. The pilot's student pilot certificate had expired.
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: student
- Flight time: 65 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 35 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,641 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 1, 1996; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: WI46 at 4:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
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.