Beech 95-B55 accident near Coalinga, California, February 19, 1999
On February 19, 1999 at about 1:45 am local time, a Beech 95-B55, registered N125TW, was destroyed in an accident near Coalinga, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadvertant visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 19, 1999 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Coalinga, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech 95-B55 · all 95-B55s on the register
- Registration
- N125TW · registry record · serial TC-1617
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and passenger had flown to northern California for dental work to be performed on the pilot. On the return trip they were receiving VFR advisories from ATC. They were maintaining VFR on top at 14,500 feet msl. A voice thought to be the passenger, who was a rated pilot, transmitted 'we're in big trouble up here' followed by other incomplete or unreadable transmissions. The airplane was lost from radar and radio contact. The wreckage was located in mountainous terrain. The airplane had collided with terrain while in a near vertical attitude. The pilot had obtained a preflight weather briefing prior to flight, and VFR was not recommended. A formal weather study indicated that the airplane most likely flew into clouds. Conditions were conducive for light to moderate rime icing in clouds at the airplane's flight altitude. The time was 11 minutes before official sunset in cloudy 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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,846 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 14, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAC Sacramento CA
- Destination: FUL Fullerton CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from NLC, 34 miles away
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.
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 LAX99FA104.