Beech BE-23 accident near Blacksburg, Virginia, December 18, 1999
On December 18, 1999 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Beech BE-23, registered N1452L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Blacksburg, Virginia (Virginia Tech Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot in command's failure to recover from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 18, 1999 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Blacksburg, Virginia · Virginia Tech Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-23
- Registration
- N1452L · no longer on the register · serial M847
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane touched down hard, and began to bounce. After the third bounce, the nose gear collapsed.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 373 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 324 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,406 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 11, 1999; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-346 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PSK Dublin VA at 9:00 pm
- Destination: BCB
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 4,550 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:20 pm from BCB
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.