Beech B100 accident near Midland, Texas, November 26, 1983
On November 26, 1983 at about 7:53 am local time, a Beech B100, registered N1910L, was destroyed in an accident near Midland, Texas (Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 8 people were killed. 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
- November 26, 1983 · about 7:53 am local time
- Place
- Midland, Texas · Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 8 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech B100 · all B100s on the register
- Registration
- N1910L · no longer on the register · serial BE-10
- 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
THE ACFT CRASHED WHILE COMPLETING A CHARTER FLT THAT BEGAN AT 1220 CST ON 11/25/83 TO TRANSPORT A TV SPORTS FILM CREW. THE FLT BEGAN AT MIDLAND, TX & PROCEEDED TO FORT WORTH & WICHITA FALLS, TX, THEN BEGAN A RETURN FLT TO MIDLAND. DURING ARRIVAL, THE PLT TRANSMITTED THAT HE WAS TURNING ON A 1/2 MI FINAL APCH FOR RWY 16R. WITNESSES OBSERVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE A NORMAL APPROACH, BUT AT 30 TO 50 FT AGL, THE PLT INITIATED A GO-AROUND, THE ACFT PITCHED UP IN AN EXTREMELY NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE, THEN ENTERED A LEFT BANK, STALLED & CRASHED. TO DUPLICATE THE ACFT'S OBSERVED PROFILE, SIMULATION TESTS SHOWED FULL AFT YOKE PRESSURE HAD TO HAVE BEEN APPLIED WITH FULL NOSE-UP TRIM ENGAGED THRU-OUT THE MANEUVER. NO PREEXISTING MECHANICAL DEFECTS WERE FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. A TEST OF THE RGT FRONT SEAT PASSENGER'S BLOOD SHOWED A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LEVEL OF .144%. A TEST OF THE PLT'S BLOOD SHOWED NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, BUT A MICROSCOPIC TISSUE EXAM SHOWED CHANGES POSSIBLY INDICATIVE OF MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION; NO CAUSE OF AN INFARCTION WAS CONCLUSIVELY ESTABLISHED
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 69 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,214 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 25, 1983; 79 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,800 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331-6 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Texas Western Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: FTW Fort Worth TX at 6:32 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16R, 9,501 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 am from MAF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.