Rockwell 500-S accident near Plymouth, Indiana, January 6, 1999
On January 6, 1999 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Rockwell 500-S, registered N50BA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Plymouth, Indiana (Plymouth Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 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 failure to maintain directional control of the airplane while landing. Factors associated with the accident were the tailwind condition and the pilot landing in the wrong direction.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 6, 1999 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Plymouth, Indiana · Plymouth Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Rockwell 500-S
- Registration
- N50BA · registry record · serial 1860-39
- 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 pilot reported he landed on runway 28; however, several witnesses reported the airplane landed on runway 10. Upon touchdown the airplane veered to the right and came to rest approximately 20 feet off the south side of the runway on a heading of about 340 degrees. The pilot reported the local winds were from 230 degrees at 5 to 10 knots.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,696 hours in all; 1,318 in this make and model; 195 in the last 90 days; 41 in the last 30 days; 1,092 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,392 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 9, 1998; 87 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,750 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIA Peoria IL at 5:00 pm
- Destination: C65
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10, 4,400 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:08 pm from SBN, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.