Beech 95-C55 accident near Twentynine Palm, California, February 11, 1982
On February 11, 1982, a Beech 95-C55, registered N200WJ, was destroyed in an accident near Twentynine Palm, California. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 11, 1982
- Place
- Twentynine Palm, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-C55 · all 95-C55s on the register
- Registration
- N200WJ · no longer on the register · serial TE-252
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT 1605, THE FLT CALLED BLYTHE FSS STATING HE WAS 25 MI EAST FOR LANDING. WHEN HE HEARD THAT HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES IN ANOTHER ACFT WERE PREPARING TO DEPART BLYTHE FOR TWENTYNINE PALMS, THE PLT CANCELLED HIS LANDING INTENTIONS & STATED THAT THEY WILL BE GOING ON TO TWENTYNINE PALMS ALSO. THE PLTS IN THE OTHER ACFT WERE ON AN IFR FLT PLAN & STATED THAT BECAUSE OF SOLID INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS THEY DID NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE THE ATC FREQ TO COMMUNICATE WITH N200WJ. THE ACFT CRASHED IN DESERT TERRAIN 32 MI EAST OF TWENTYNINE PALMS. A WITNESS STATED THAT VISIBILITY AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AT 1630 WAS LESS THAN 1/4 MI WITH MODERATE RAIN. THE PLT DID NOT HAVE A MULTI-ENGINE OR INSTRUMENT RATING,AND HIS CLASS II MEDICAL CERTIFICATE HAD EXPIRED. THE PAX HAD UNDERGONE DOUBLE BYPASS SURGERY IN 1975 FOR SEVERE OCCLUSIVE CORONARY DISEASE. THE AUTOPSY INDICATED THAT THE BYPASS VESSEL HAD A FRESHLY PROPAGATING CLOT, TOTALLY OCCLUDING THE LUMEN.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,589 hours in all; 326 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,497 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAD Safford AZ
- Destination: TNP Twentynine Palm CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.