Beech A100 accident near Brooksville, Florida, November 8, 1986
On November 8, 1986 at about 11:16 am local time, a Beech A100, registered N78L, was destroyed in an accident near Brooksville, Florida (Hernando County airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 1986 · about 11:16 am local time
- Place
- Brooksville, Florida · Hernando County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech A100 · all A100s on the register
- Registration
- N78L · no longer on the register · serial B-167
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED THAT SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE THE COCKPIT FILLED WITH SMOKE. WHILE RETURNING FOR LANDING HIS VISIBILITY WAS REDUCED DUE TO THE SMOKE AND GROUND FOG. ON LANDING ROLL THE THE AIRCRAFT RAN OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, WENT THROUGH A COW FENCE AND CAME TO REST AGAINST A TREE. A POST CRASH FIRE ERRUPTED IN THE LEFT WING AREA WHERE A FENCE POST PUNCTURED THE WING AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. THE CAUSE OF THE SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,290 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 7,110 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,500 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 1, 1986; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,797 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Destination: TMB Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 2, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:48 am from PIE, 36 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.