Beech 1900C accident near Gabriels, New York, January 3, 1992
On January 3, 1992 at about 10:46 am local time, a Beech 1900C, registered N55000, was destroyed in an accident near Gabriels, New York (Adirondack airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE CAPTAIN TO ESTABLISH A STABILIZED APPROACH, HIS INADEQUATE CROSS-CHECK OF INSTRUMENTS, HIS DESCENT BELOW SPECIFIED MINIMUM ALTITUDE AT THE FINAL APPROACH FIX, AND FAILURE OF THE COPILOT TO MONITOR THE APPROACH. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: WEATHER CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE PRECIPITATION STATIC INTERFERENCE, CAUSED BY INADEQUATE GROUNDING BETWEEN THE RADOME AND FUSELAGE THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN UNRELIABLE GLIDE SLOPE INDICATIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 3, 1992 · about 10:46 am local time
- Place
- Gabriels, New York · Adirondack · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 1900C · all 1900Cs on the register
- Registration
- N55000 · registry record · serial UC-135
- 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
ON IFR ARRIVAL, FLT 4821 WAS CLEARED TO INTERSECTION 17 NE OF AIRPORT AT 6000', THEN FOR ILS RUNWAY 23 APPROACH. RADAR SERVICE WAS TERMINATED 6.5 EAST OF INTERSECTION. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT FLIGHT CROSSED & THEN BRACKETED LOCALIZER. FLIGHT INTERCEPTED GLIDE SLOPE FROM BELOW ABOUT 7 MI OUTSIDE OF OUTER MARKER & THENCE DEVIATED ABOVE GLIDE SLOPE. ABOUT 2 MILES OUTSIDE OF MARKER, FLIGHT WAS AT A FULL FLY DOWN DEFLECTION WHEN IT ENTERED A DESCENT VARYING FROM 1200 TO 2000 FPM. AIRCRAFT STRUCK WOODED MOUNTAIN TOP 2.0 MI INSIDE OF OUTER MARKER (3.9 MI FROM RWY) AT ELEVATION OF 2280'. MINIMUM ALTITUDE AT MARKER WAS 3600'. GLIDE SLOPE ELEVATION AT POINT OF IMPACT WAS APRX 2900'. EVIDENCE WAS FOUND OF INADEQUATE ELECTRICAL GROUND PATH BETWEEN RADOME & FUSELAGE WHICH, WHEN COMBINED WITH EXISTING WEATHER CONDITIONS, MAY HAVE PRODUCED ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE (PRECIPITATION STATIC). ALTHOUGH POST-ACCIDENT TESTS WERE NOT CONCLUSIVE, THE SAFETY BOARD BELIEVES THAT THE GLIDE SLOPE INDICATIONS MIGHT HAVE BEEN UNRELIABLE DUE TO PRECIPITATION STATIC INTERFERENCE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,700 hours in all; 3,700 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 2,700 as pilot in command; 700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,675 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 29, 1991; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,000 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-65B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PLB Plattsburgh NY at 10:33 am
- Destination: SLK Saranac Lake NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 6,573 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:05 am from SLK, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N55000 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.