Beech 95-B55 incident near Longview, Texas, July 2, 1997
On July 2, 1997 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Beech 95-B55, registered N6663C, was involved in an incident near Longview, Texas (Gregg County Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the rudder pedal bell crank from the right seat side due to an overload fracture.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 1997 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Longview, Texas · Gregg County Airport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · all 95-B55s on the register
- Registration
- N6663C · no longer on the register · serial TC-2265
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that while taxiing to parking, the 'student started a right turn that was too tight and I applied left rudder to stop the turn.' The flight instructor further reported that there was an audible 'pop' and the left rudder pedal went to the floor. He said they stopped the airplane and pushed it into its parking space. Postincident examination of the rudder system revealed that the rudder pedal bell crank from the right seat side was broken. The airplane manufacturer's Metallurgical Engineering Laboratory examined the bell crank's aft arm fracture and determined that it failed due to 'overload.' They further determined that there were no indications of preexisting cracks and/or material defects in the bell crank's aft arm.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,686 hours in all; 104 in this make and model; 162 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 3,464 as pilot in command; 2,690 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,160 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 26, 1997; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,121 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470L21B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GGG at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:47 pm from GGG, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.