Beech 58 accident near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, March 31, 2000
On March 31, 2000 at about 10:25 am local time, a Beech 58, registered N8230V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rocky Mount, North Carolina (Rocky Mount-Wilson Regn'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into IMC conditions and the failure of the pilot to maintain altitude/clearance resulting in the in-flight collision with trees and unmarked power lines during a visual approach to the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 31, 2000 · about 10:25 am local time
- Place
- Rocky Mount, North Carolina · Rocky Mount-Wilson Regn'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N8230V · no longer on the register · serial TH-1640
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot received a weather briefing and was advised en route, destination airport weather was unavailable. The pilot cancelled the IFR clearance after she observed runway and approach lights and also buildings to the left of the runway. She noted that the flight was high and began to descend. With the localizer frequency set, she noted the aircraft was left of course. After glancing at the Loran to confirm distance, the airplane collided with trees, power lines then the ground and came to rest about .4 nautical mile from the approach end of the runway that is equipped with a PAPI lights. The pilot reported there were no mechanical or navigational malfunctions. A sheriff deputy arriving 15 minutes after the accident reported it was, 'extremely foggy with low visibility.' The pilot did not have two-way radio communications with any person on the ground at the airport and there was no reported visibility at the airport at the time of the accident contrary to procedures specified in the operator's Operations Specifications. The uncommisioned ASOS on the field reported the visibility at 0453 and 0553 to be 1/4 mile with fog and a vertical visibility of 100 feet.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,943 hours in all; 395 in this make and model; 133 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 4,335 as pilot in command; 2,459 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,187 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 8, 2000; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-C6F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Causey Aviation Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: IGX Chapel Hill NC at 10:00 am
- Destination: RWI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from RWI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.