Beech 65-A90 accident near Orange, Virginia, November 16, 1996
On November 16, 1996 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Beech 65-A90, registered N814SW, was destroyed in an accident near Orange, Virginia (Orange County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were seriously injured and 8 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and his failure to complete the pretakeoff checklist which resulted in a takeoff roll with the control lock in place.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 16, 1996 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Orange, Virginia · Orange County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were seriously injured and 8 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 65-A90 · all 65-A90s on the register
- Registration
- N814SW · registry record · serial LJ-186
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was taking off with 10 jumpers onboard. At the rotation speed of 100 knots, he used elevator trim to rotate the airplane, but it did not lift off the runway. He continued moving the trim wheel violently to pitch the nose up, and attempted to pull back on the yoke, but the airplane collided with rising terrain off the end of the runway. A witness did not see any of the flight controls move during the pilot preflight inspection, and during the takeoff roll, he did not observe a nose up rotation of the airplane. The pilot reported that he removed a single pin control lock from the yoke during preflight. The Beech control lock consisted of two pins, two chains, and a U-shaped engine control lock. The pilot walked away from the wreckage after the accident. No control locks were found in the wreckage. However, the control column shaft exhibited distress signatures on the periphery of the hole where the control lock is installed. No other evidence was found of any other form of mechanical jamming, interference, or discontinuity with the flight controls. Investigators were unable to identify any potential source of interference, other than a control lock, that could have simultaneously jammed both pitch and roll control. According to the airplane's manufacturer, about 3 to 6 degree of trim would have been normal for the airplane's takeoff conditions.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,170 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 1,085 as pilot in command; 116 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 5, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 8,800 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: W93 at 8:00 pm
- Destination: W93
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 3,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from CHO, 23 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 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.