Beech 1900D accident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 8, 1999
On February 8, 1999 at about 5:35 pm local time, a Beech 1900D, registered N148SK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchel Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 14 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 in-flight collision with a bird.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 8, 1999 · about 5:35 pm local time
- Place
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin · General Mitchel Int'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 14 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 1900D · all 1900Ds on the register
- Registration
- N148SK · registry record · serial UE148
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The crew reported that approximately 24 nautical miles from the flight's destination, at 2,900 feet mean sea level, they encountered a flock of 20 to 30 Canadian geese while the aircraft was flying in a broken cloud layer. The crew stated that one goose impacted the outboard leading edge of the right wing, puncturing a hole through the leading edge and rupturing the fuel tank. The crew stated that the aircraft began to shake and the crew shut down the right engine. The crew declared an emergency with Air Traffic Control and was able to complete the flight to General Mitchell International.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,990 hours in all; 2,833 in this make and model; 87 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 3,752 as pilot in command; 1,769 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,899 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 4, 1999; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,950 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-67D (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GRR Grand Rapids MI at 4:53 pm
- Destination: MKE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 pm from MKE, 24 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 12 |
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 N148SK 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.