Beech 65 accident near Meridian, Mississippi, July 17, 1991
On July 17, 1991 at about 10:02 pm local time, a Beech 65, registered N711SF, was destroyed in an accident near Meridian, Mississippi. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
LOSS OF POWER FROM THE RIGHT ENGINE DUE TO UNDETERMINED REASONS. THE FAILURE OF THE PROPELLER TO FEATHER WAS A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 1991 · about 10:02 pm local time
- Place
- Meridian, Mississippi
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 65 · all 65s on the register
- Registration
- N711SF · registry record · serial LC-139
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF THE ACFT YAWED TO THE RT, LT THEN RT AGAIN. THE PAX IN THE COPLTS SEAT STATED THE RT ENG RPM GAUGE INDICATION NEEDLE WAS FLUCTUATING. THE PLT POSITIONED THE RT ENG MIXTURE CONTROL TO IDLE CUTOFF AND THE PROP CONTROL TO FEATHER. THE PROP CONTINUED TO WINDMILL. UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALT, THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO LAND ON A HIGHWAY BUT THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH AN UNMARKED POWER LINE, LIGHT POLE, THEN THE GROUND AND WAS DESTROYED BY POSTCRASH FIRE. THE RT ENG WAS RECOVERED AND DUE TO IMPACT DAMAGE, THE PROP AND FUEL SERVO WERE REPLACED. THE ENG WAS PLACED ON A TEST STAND AND WAS STARTED AND FOUND TO OPERATE NORMALLY. THE PROP GOVERNOR AND DAMAGED FUEL SERVO WERE TESTED AND FOUND TO OPERATE NORMALLY. THE DAMAGED PROP WAS INSPECTED AND FOUND TO BE FREE OF PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. NO DETERMINATION COULD BE MADE AS TO THE REASON FOR THE REPORTED POWER FLUCTUATION FROM THE RT ENG. A WITNESS STATED GEAR RETRACTION WAS DELAYED AFTER TAKEOFF.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 943 hours in all; 34 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 913 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,200 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 27, 1991; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,900 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-720-A1B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Jack Marshall Foods, INC.
The flight
- Destination: TCL Tuscaloosa AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,400 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:07 pm from MEI, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA91LA187.