Beech B99 accident near Grottoes, Virginia, September 23, 1985
On September 23, 1985 at about 2:20 pm local time, a Beech B99, registered N339HA, was destroyed in an accident near Grottoes, Virginia (Shenandoah Valley airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 14 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 23, 1985 · about 2:20 pm local time
- Place
- Grottoes, Virginia · Shenandoah Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 14 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech B99 · all B99s on the register
- Registration
- N339HA · no longer on the register · serial U-156
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT ARR FM THE NE, CROSSED OVR THE ARPT IN IMC CONDS & CONTD TWD THE SW TO THE INITIAL APCH FIX (IAF) FOR AN ILS RWY 4 APCH. THE IAF WAS OVR THE OUTER MARKER (OM), 4.2 MI SW OF THE ARPT. AS THE ACFT DEPTD THE IAF, IT CONTD OUTBND TWD THE SW ON AN IMPRECISE TRACK FOR APRX 1 MIN, MADE A PROCEDURE TURN (PT) BY TURNING RGT (WEST), THEN BACK LEFT (EAST) TWD THE LOCALIZER (LOC). INBND HDG FOR THE LOC WAS 045 DEG. RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST DRG THE PT. AS THE PT WAS COMPLETED, THE ACFT ANGLED TO THE EAST OF THE LOC & INTERCEPTED THE 045 DEG RADIAL OF THE MONTEBELLO (MOL) VOR. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT HIT A MTN TOP WHILE IN LVL FLT AT 2400' ALONG THE MOL 045 RADIAL. CLD BASES WERE AT APRX 2000'. NO PREIMPACT PART PRBLM WAS FND. ACFT RDO INSTLN WAS NONSTANDARD, NOT FAA APPROVED; 1 ADF & 2 NAV DISPLAYS WERE IN UNSUIT LOCATION FOR COPLT. RDO TRANSCRIPT INDCD PLTS WERE UNCERTAIN OF GEOGRAPHIC PSN BFR IMPACT. COMPANY PLT EXP REDUCED BY RECENT PLT TURNOVER. BOTH PLTS HAD LMTD EXP IN RESPECTIVE PSNS. HI NOISE LVL IN COCKPIT MADE CONVERSATION DIFFICULT. LACK OF FAA SURVEILLANCE
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,447 hours in all; 301 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 2,428 as pilot in command; 1,732 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,900 lb
- Seats: 17
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: BWI Baltimore MD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 6,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 pm from SHD, 6 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.
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.