Beech 58 accident near Columbus, Ohio, April 24, 1998
On April 24, 1998 at about 3:25 am local time, a Beech 58, registered N258B, was destroyed in an accident near Columbus, Ohio (Port Columbus Internation airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate planned approach and his failure to follow wake turbulence avoidance procedures by not staying above the glide-path of the preceding Boeing 757, which resulted in a vortex turbulence encounter. Contributing to the accident was the wake turbulence, and night conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 24, 1998 · about 3:25 am local time
- Place
- Columbus, Ohio · Port Columbus Internation · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N258B · registry record · serial TH-1141
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
This was the pilot's first night trip for the company and his fourth stop on a seven leg trip. The previous three legs were reported as uneventful, and had lasted a total of 3 hours and 9 minutes. During arrival at night, the pilot was cleared by ATC to follow a Boeing 757 on final approach for runway 10R. He was cautioned three times about possible wake turbulence from the Boeing 757 and he confirmed that he had the jet in sight. A witness reported observing the aircraft roll 90 degrees perpendicular to the runway into a steep descending nose low attitude and collide with the terrain while in close trail behind the 757. Radar data showed that the accident airplane stayed above the flight path of the Boeing 757 3 to 5 miles out. The Boeing 757 touched down about 1,000 feet down the runway, while the accident airplane flew a steeper approach and impacted the runway about 700 feet from the approach end. According to the pilot's evaluation form dated April 8, 15 days before the accident, the pilot was counseled not to, 'Dive for the runway toward the end of the approach.' According to Advisory Circular dated October 1, 1991, when landing behind a larger aircraft-same runway, stay at or above the larger aircraft's final approach flightpath-note touchdown point-land beyond it. The reported winds at the time of the accident was calm. Examination of the engine and airframe did not disclose any evidence of mechanical malfunction.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,250 hours in all; 23 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 1,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,894 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 21, 1998; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520CB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: IND Indianapolis IN at 2:45 am
- Destination: CMH Port Columbus OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10, 10,250 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:51 am from CMH
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number IAD98FA047.