Raytheon Corporate Jets BE-200 accident near Williamstown, Massachusetts, October 5, 1999
On October 5, 1999 at about 9:45 am local time, a Raytheon Corporate Jets BE-200, registered N208MS, was destroyed in an accident near Williamstown, Massachusetts (Harriman-And-West airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's failure comply with an air traffic control clearance which resulted in a collision with terrain. A factor in this accident was clouds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 5, 1999 · about 9:45 am local time
- Place
- Williamstown, Massachusetts · Harriman-And-West
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Raytheon Corporate Jets BE-200
- Registration
- N208MS · no longer on the register · serial BB400
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pre-takeoff instrument flight rules clearance for the flight called for the airplane to climb and maintain 5,000 feet, and to expect flight level 220, 10 minutes after departure. The clearance was read back correctly by a member of the flight crew. Shortly after takeoff, a member of the flight crew asked air traffic control for a higher altitude, and then stated 'uh, you want us at twenty two hundred.' The approach controller transmitted 'should be at five thousand;' however, there were no further transmissions from the airplane. The airplane wreckage was located at an elevation of about 2,300 feet, approximately 4.8 miles west of the departure airport. The airplane impacted wooded up-sloping terrain. Several broken trees were observed, which led to the beginning of the debris path. The trees were broken at about the same height. A weather observation taken at an airport about 12 miles north-northwest of the accident site, about the time of the accident included: few Clouds at 300 feet and a ceiling of 1,700 feet overcast.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,450 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 6,350 as pilot in command; 3,130 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,020 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 4, 1999; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W Canada PT6A-41 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Shorline Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: AQW North Adams MA at 9:44 am
- Destination: LWB Lewisburg WV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 29, 4,300 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,700 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:54 am from DDH, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.