Saab-Fairchild 340A incident near Beaumont, Texas, November 22, 1989
On November 22, 1989 at about 4:24 pm local time, a Saab-Fairchild 340A, registered N363MA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Beaumont, Texas (Beaumont/Port Arthur airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 37 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN ADJUSTED VREF AND PROPER DESCENT RATES DURING THE APPROACH. THE PILOT DELAYED DECISION TO EXECUTE A GO-AROUND AND THE COPILOT FAILED TO MONITOR THE POORLY FLOWN APPROACH. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE RAIN AND WIND SHEAR ENCOUNTERED DURING THE APPROACH AND THE CREW'S POOR EVALUATION OF THAT WEATHER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 22, 1989 · about 4:24 pm local time
- Place
- Beaumont, Texas · Beaumont/Port Arthur
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 37 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Saab-Fairchild 340A · all 340As on the register
- Registration
- N363MA · registry record · serial 340A-098
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DUE TO SHOWERS ON THE ILS RUNWAY, THE CREW ELECTED TO CIRCLE AND LAND RWY 30. MDA WAS 540 FT, ADJUSTED VREF WAS 130 KTS. AT THE 90 DEGREE POSITION TO THE RWY, IAS WAS 131 KTS. ALTITUDE WAS 528 FT. DURING THE DESCENDING BASE TO FINAL TURN, THE POWER WENT TO FLIGHT IDLE. THE AIRSPEED WENT BELOW ADJUSTED VREF, AND THE RADAR ALTITUDE WENT DOWN TO 176 FEET. THE RADAR ALTITUDE WAS 56 FEET, AND THE AIRPSEED WAS 112 KNOTS WHEN THE TORQUE STARTED TO INCREASE. LOWEST RADAR ALTITUDE WAS 16 FEET, AND LOWEST AIRSPEED WAS 100 KNOTS. AIRPLANE IMPACTED TOPS OF TREES, APRX 2,200 FEET FROM APCH END OF RUNWAY. PIC SAID THAT DURING TURN FROM BASE TO FINAL, F/O LOST SIGHT OF RUNWAY IN A RAINSHOWER AND A GO-AROUND WAS INITIATED. PIC OF AIRPLANE, WAITING AT HOLD LINE FOR WX TO IMPROVE BEFORE TAKEOFF, SAW THE AIRPLANE DISAPPEAR BEHIND TREES, DURING HEAVY RAIN. HIS F/O CALLED IT A WALL OF WATER.
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: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,914 hours in all; 2,133 in this make and model; 197 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 8,971 as pilot in command; 1,388 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 27,000 lb
- Seats: 37
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CT7-5A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dfw Airport TX at 3:30 pm
- Destination: BPT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 6,751 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,800 ft; scat at 1,300 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:39 pm from BPT, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 34 |
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.