Beech 95-B55 accident near Hawthorne, Nevada, September 26, 1998
On September 26, 1998 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Beech 95-B55, registered N554MB, was destroyed in an accident near Hawthorne, Nevada. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's disregard of the weather briefing information and his decision to attempt flight into forecast adverse weather conditions, which led to an encounter with icing conditions beyond the performance capability of the aircraft. The pilot's disregard for the pilot operating handbook prohibition against flight into icing conditions is also causal.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 26, 1998 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hawthorne, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · all 95-B55s on the register
- Registration
- N554MB · no longer on the register · serial TC-2358
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot called the flight service station and obtained a weather briefing prior to the flight. He was told several times that VFR flight was not recommended due in part to IFR conditions along a portion of his route, mountain obscurment along the entire route, and moderate rime and mixed icing along the route between 8,000 and 18,000 feet. Additionally, he was told there were thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Southern California, and throughout Utah and Nevada. The pilot picked up an IFR clearance moments before he told controllers that he had a "system's failure." The controller asked him what type of system's problem he had and he told the controller that he had lost control of the aircraft and was descending at 2,000 feet per minute. Ground units that were launched to locate the missing aircraft were hampered by inclimate weather, and an H-60 military helicopter that was conducting an airborne search entered clouds and crashed not far from the site of the downed aircraft. Teardown reports on both engines concluded that there were no mechanical malfunctions noted that would have caused an operational problem. The left propeller was found feathered prior to impact, with no preimpact discrepancies noted on either propeller that would have precluded normal operation. The right propeller had indications of rotation and power development on impact. The airplane was not equipped for flight into icing conditions and did not have any propeller or wing deicing boots. Analysis of meteorological data showed that the aircraft entered the clouds where significant light to moderate clear/mixed airframe icing was present, and, encountered a convective cell in the minutes prior to 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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,839 hours in all; 407 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,070 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 10, 1998; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: RBL Red Bluff Muni CA at 2:10 pm
- Destination: SGU St. George UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,100 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from NFL, 62 miles away
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.
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.