Beech 65-B80 accident near Brainerd, Minnesota, October 17, 1998
On October 17, 1998 at about 5:33 am local time, a Beech 65-B80, registered N138BA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Brainerd, Minnesota. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath and his diversion of attention during a critical phase of flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 1998 · about 5:33 am local time
- Place
- Brainerd, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 65-B80 · all 65-B80s on the register
- Registration
- N138BA · registry record · serial LD-361
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that during the ILS approach he reached a point where he thought he should be seeing the approach lights. He said that he checked the radio to determine if it was on the correct frequency. He said that he realized that the transmit switch was selected to the wrong radio and when he returned his attention to the instruments, he realized that he had allowed the airplane to descend low on the glide path. He said that before he could react, the airplane impacted the terrain.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,738 hours in all; 1,813 in this make and model; 4,605 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,119 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 9, 1998; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-720-A1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MSP Minneapolis MN at 4:55 am
- Destination: BRD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:17 am from BRD, 1 miles away
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI99LA008.