Beech 200 incident near Peoria, Illinois, May 8, 1996
On May 8, 1996 at about 3:33 pm local time, a Beech 200, registered N961LL, suffered minor damage in an incident near Peoria, Illinois (Greater Peoria Regional airport). It was a public-use flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 8 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 pilot's intentional flight into known adverse weather conditions and the lightning strike.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 8, 1996 · about 3:33 pm local time
- Place
- Peoria, Illinois · Greater Peoria Regional · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 200 · all 200s on the register
- Registration
- N961LL · no longer on the register · serial BB1139
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane being operated by the State of Illinois-Department of Transportation was struck by lightning 23 miles southwest of the Greater Peoria Regional Airport. The Governor of Illinois and the Illinois Secretary of Transportation were on board the airplane. A Convective SIGMET had been issued addressing severe thunderstorms in the area. The flight crew was aware of convective weather activity along their route of flight.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,205 hours in all; 7,017 in this make and model; 124 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 8,919 as pilot in command; 2,268 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,015 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 2, 1996; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-42 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SPI Springfield IL at 3:15 pm
- Destination: MLI Moline IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1.8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:42 pm from PIA, 23 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.