Beech BE-95-A55 accident near Mesquite, Texas, December 15, 1998
On December 15, 1998 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Beech BE-95-A55, registered N6DL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mesquite, Texas (Mesquite Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a simulated engine failure during takeoff maneuver and the instructor's inadequate supervision. Factors were; the student's lack of total flight time in multiengine airplanes, and the soft ground in which the nose landing gear became embedded when the airplane departed the runway surface.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 15, 1998 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mesquite, Texas · Mesquite Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-95-A55
- Registration
- N6DL · no longer on the register · serial TC-381
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The multi-engine airplane veered off the runway during a practice engine failure on takeoff maneuver [V1 Cut] during an instructional flight. The student taxied the airplane to the runway, performed the takeoff checklist, and commenced the takeoff roll. After assuring that full power had been applied, the instructor covered the mixture controls with a plastic checklist, and pulled the right engine's mixture lever to the 'idle cutoff' position. The student was not able to maintain directional control, and before the instructor could assume the controls, the aircraft departed the runway on the right side onto soft, muddy ground. Subsequently, the nose gear collapsed, and the left propeller struck the ground. The student pilot had a total of 1,887 hours of flight time, of which, 4.7 hours were in multi-engine airplanes. He holds a commercial pilot certificate with ratings in single engine airplanes (land & sea), and a flight instructor certificate with an instructor rating in single engine airplanes.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,788 hours in all; 313 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 2,518 as pilot in command; 1,464 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,440 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 1998; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,880 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HQZ at 7:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 6,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.