Beech 1900C incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 19, 2000
On May 19, 2000 at about 6:54 pm local time, a Beech 1900C, registered N154GA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 22 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the first officer to comply with procedures and directives for his failure to assure that the forward airstair door was closed and locked. A contributing factor in the incident was the inoperative annunciation system of the forward airstair door.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2000 · about 6:54 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 22 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 1900C · all 1900Cs on the register
- Registration
- N154GA · registry record · serial UB25
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 'fwd cabin door' annunciator light was inoperative and MEL'd; it was scheduled to be examined later that evening. Six discrepancies in the previous year pertaining to the forward airstair door annunciator were recorded; the latest discrepancy was 2 days earlier. The captain briefed the MEL item with the first officer (F/O), who reported closing and locking the forward airstair door, and verifying such. The F/O reported only verbally briefing the passenger adjacent to the door about the door opening procedures but did not demonstrate. After takeoff at 800 feet 800 feet msl, the forward airstair door opened. An emergency was declared, the flight returned and landed uneventfully. The propeller blades and aft cables of the forward airstair door were damaged; the door latching mechanism operated normally. The company F/O's are taught to verbally discuss with passengers the door opening procedure without demonstrating. Several of the company F/O's reported partially opening the forward airstair door to demonstrate the procedure to the passenger; accomplishing this after closing and locking the door. Post incident, the F/O was vague about how to verify that the forward airstair door is locked. The results of drug screening of the captain and FO were negative.
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: airline transport pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,800 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 2,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 29,037 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 1, 2000; 116 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,600 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-65B (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gulfstream International
The flight
- Departed from: FLL at 6:52 pm
- Destination: MYGF Freeport OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from FLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 20 |
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.