Beech F33A accident near Montgomery, New York, November 12, 2005
On November 12, 2005, a Beech F33A, registered N1813W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Montgomery, New York. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's misjudgment of the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing short of the runway. Factors included the night lighting conditions, the time-out and reestablishment of the high intensity runway lighting, and the pilot's failure to go around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 12, 2005
- Place
- Montgomery, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech F33A · all F33As on the register
- Registration
- N1813W · registry record · serial CE413
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was making a night visual approach to an airport when, on short final, the pilot-activated runway lights timed out. The pilot re-activated the lights, which came back on at a high intensity that "adversely affected [her] night vision and depth perception." During the time the lights were out, the airplane descended below the glide path, and by the time she realized it, the pilot felt that she could not have successfully executed a go-around because "the aircraft would have most likely lost lift and stalled." According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane then landed "short and hard." No airplane mechanical anomalies were noted.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,022 hours in all; 379 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AIY Atlantic City NJ
- Destination: MGJ Montgomery NY
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 NYC06CA031.