Beech C45G accident near Salt Lake City, Utah, October 22, 1987
On October 22, 1987 at about 4:05 am local time, a Beech C45G, registered N781A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- October 22, 1987 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Salt Lake City, Utah · Salt Lake City
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech C45G · all C45Gs on the register
- Registration
- N781A · registry record · serial AF-417
- 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
WHILE CONDUCTING THE LAST LANDING AT THE COMPLETION OF A REVENUE FREIGHT HAULING FLT THE ACFT DEPARTED THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY SEPARATING THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR AND DAMAGING THE LEFT WING AND NUMBER ONE ENGINE. THE PLT STATED THAT THE LANDING LIGHTS WOULD NOT WORK AND LEFT BRAKE DID NOT FUNCTION. POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED NO DISCREPANCIES IN THESE AREAS. THE ACFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,395 hours in all; 235 in this make and model; 128 in the last 90 days; 4,182 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,047 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 5, 1987; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIH Pocatello ID at 2:00 am
- Destination: SLC Salt Lake City UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34R, 9,596 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from SLC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.