Beech 65-A90 accident near Lake Wales, Florida, July 2, 2000
On July 2, 2000 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Beech 65-A90, registered N983K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lake Wales, Florida (Lake Wales airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout while maneuvering to avoid a flock of birds shortly after takeoff, resulting in the aircraft colliding with a wire. A factor in the accident was the pilot's fatigue after having worked everyday for the previous 3 weeks.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 2000 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lake Wales, Florida · Lake Wales · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 65-A90 · all 65-A90s on the register
- Registration
- N983K · no longer on the register · serial LJ-169
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After takeoff the pilot raised the landing gear and then had to take evasive action to the right to avoid a flock of birds. As he performed the evasive maneuver, he raised the flaps. The aircraft was slow, and he kept the nose down to build up speed for the climb. Just as he was to commence the climb, he caught a glimpse of a wire ahead. He pulled up rapidly, but contacted the wire with the right wing. The wire broke. He entered downwind and landed on runway 6. The pilot stated that he was fatigued, frustrated, and disappointed after he had worked straight for the previous 3 weeks, and had been unable to get a day off.
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
- Flight time: 1,650 hours in all; 110 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 1,570 as pilot in command; 80 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,900 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 10, 1999; 120 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: X07 at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 3,800 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:52 pm from BOW, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.