Beech 1900D accident near Charlotte, North Carolina, January 8, 2003
On January 8, 2003 at about 1:49 pm local time, a Beech 1900D, registered N233YV, was destroyed in an accident near Charlotte, North Carolina (Charlotte-Douglas Internationa airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 21 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the airplane's loss of pitch control during take-off. The loss of pitch control resulted from the incorrect rigging of the elevator system compounded by the airplane's aft center of gravity, which was substaintially aft of the certified aft limit. Contributing to the cause of the accident were (1) Air Midwest's lack of oversight of the work being performed at the Huntington, West Virginia, maintenance station; (2) Air Midwest's maintenance procedures and documentation; (3) Air Midwest's weight and balance program at the time of the accident; (4) the Raytheon Aerospace quality assurance inspector's failure to detect the incorrect rigging of the elevator control system; (5) the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) average weight assumptions in its weight and balance program guidance at the time of the accident; and (6) the FAA's lack of oversight of Air Midwest's maintenance program and its weight and balance program.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 8, 2003 · about 1:49 pm local time
- Place
- Charlotte, North Carolina · Charlotte-Douglas Internationa · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 21 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 1900D · all 1900Ds on the register
- Registration
- N233YV · no longer on the register · serial UE-233
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-04/01. On January 8, 2003, about 0847:28 eastern standard time, Air Midwest (doing business as US Airways Express) flight 5481, a Raytheon (Beechcraft) 1900D, N233YV, crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 18R at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina. The 2 flight crewmembers and 19 passengers aboard the airplane were killed, 1 person on the ground received minor injuries, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. Flight 5481 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Greer, South Carolina, and was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,790 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,096 hours in all; 706 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,003 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 6, 2003
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney Canada Pt6A-67D (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-A-67D (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Air Midwest INC
The flight
- Departed from: CLT Charlotte NC at 8:49 am
- Destination: GSP Greenville-Spar NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18R, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.75 inHg
- Observation at 12:51 pm from clt
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 19 |
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.