Beech 200 accident near Stuart, Virginia, October 24, 2004
On October 24, 2004 at about 4:35 pm local time, a Beech 200, registered N501RH, was destroyed in an accident near Stuart, Virginia (Blue Ridge airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 10 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crew's failure to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure, including the published missed approach procedure, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the flight crew's failure to use all available navigational aids to confirm and monitor the airplane's position during the approach.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 2004 · about 4:35 pm local time
- Place
- Stuart, Virginia · Blue Ridge · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 10 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 200 · all 200s on the register
- Registration
- N501RH · no longer on the register · serial BB-805
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm On October 24, 2004, about 1235 eastern daylight time (all times in this brief are eastern daylight time based on a 24-hour clock), a Beech King Air 200, N501RH, operated by Hendrick Motorsports, Inc., crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport (MTV), Martinsville, Virginia. The flight was transporting Hendrick Motorsports employees and others to an automobile race in Martinsville, Virginia. The two flight crewmembers and eight passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the time of the accident.
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: 10,733 hours in all; 210 in this make and model; 67 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 27, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,090 hours in all; 121 in this make and model; 67 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 27, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,078 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 25, 2004; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,499 lb
- Seats: 12
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A41 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A41 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: JQF Concord NC at 3:56 pm
- Destination: MTV Martinsville VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 5,002 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 600 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 4:20 pm from MTV, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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.