Beech BE-200 accident near Sandersville, Georgia, August 9, 2001
On August 9, 2001 at about 1:48 pm local time, a Beech BE-200, registered N899RW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sandersville, Georgia (Kaolin Field). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in command's failure to maintain airspeed during the approach, resulting in an inadvertent stall and in-flight collision with the terrain during an uncontrollable descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 2001 · about 1:48 pm local time
- Place
- Sandersville, Georgia · Kaolin Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 5 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-200
- Registration
- N899RW · no longer on the register · serial BB1637
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight made two instrument approaches to minimums and executed two missed approaches before the crew elected to land about 25 miles south and wait for the low ceiling condition to improve. An hour later, having topped off fuel tanks, confirmed by telephone that destination weather was improving, the flight re-launched to their original destination. They executed a GPS-A, (circling) instrument approach, broke out of instrument conditions about 100 ft. above minimums, (600 feet, agl) and about 1mile from the runway, and started a right downwind turn to enter a left base leg for landing runway 30. During the turn to final approach, the crew extended the landing gear and flaps for landing, and according to the co-pilot, the pilot flew through the extended runway centerline requiring a, " teardrop turn back toward the runway. In the turn the bank angle was about 45 degrees, the descent rate increased rapidly and a faint warning [stall warning] sounded, the nose then pitches down and [the PIC] screams as he shoves both throttles full forward and using both hands pulls the yoke back and as soon as the nose came above the horizon the plane impacted the ground wings were fairly level mains hit first and we paralleled the runway about fifty feet or so to the right of the runway". The impact sheared the landing gear, shed the propellers, broke the engines from their mounts, started a fire in the left engine, and broke open the fuselage 3 feet aft of the cabin pressure bulkhead. The two pilots and three of four passengers received minor injuries, and one passenger received serious injuries. The cockpit voice recorder was shipped to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, DC. Readout of data recorded from the cockpit area microphone revealed that 6.4 seconds before impact the stall warning sounded, and 4.4 seconds before impact the altitude alerter sounded.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,900 hours in all; 978 in this make and model; 65 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command; 501 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 1, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 5,500 as pilot in command; 1,100 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 13, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 996.7 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 24, 2001; 42.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-42A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-42A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DBN Dublin GA at 1:40 pm
- Destination: OKZ Sandersville GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 5,015 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from MCN, 44 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N899RW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.