Beech BE-55 accident near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, December 13, 2007
On December 13, 2007 at about 12:45 pm local time, a Beech BE-55, registered N777EV, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Lancaster 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's failure to maintain a proper glidepath during the landing approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper decision to fly with known deficiencies in equipment, and the icing conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 13, 2007 · about 12:45 pm local time
- Place
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania · Lancaster Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-55
- Registration
- N777EV · registry record · serial TE-871
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The purpose of the accident flight was to reposition the airplane for maintenance, and was only about 10 minutes in duration. The pilot reported that an airman's meteorological advisory existed warning of light to moderate icing in precipitation and freezing drizzle along his route of flight. During the instrument flight rules flight, the pilot maintained visual contact with the ground, and reported the presence of light freezing drizzle and rain. The airplane's deicing equipment cleared the airframe of ice; however, the view through the windscreen became obscured, as the anti-ice plate on the windscreen had previously been removed for replacement, and a new unit had not yet been installed. The pilot utilized the autopilot to fly a coupled instrument landing system approach, and decoupled the autopilot about 300 feet above the ground. Using the side windows and the radar altimeter, the pilot estimated that the airplane had enough altitude to reach the runway, but due to the up-sloping terrain prior to the runway threshold, the airplane was actually lower than the pilot thought. The airplane subsequently contacted terrain about 150 feet short of the runway threshold. As the airplane came to a stop the nose landing gear collapsed, and the right main landing gear separated, damaging the wing spar. The weather reported at the destination airport, about 10 minutes before the accident, included freezing rain and a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius.
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: 10,390 hours in all; 475 in this make and model; 105 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 9,614 as pilot in command; 2,995 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,234 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 5,386 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CXY Harrisburg PA
- Destination: LNS Lancaster PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8, 4,102 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,300 ft; ovct at 4,300 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.25 inHg
- Observation at 12:37 pm from LNS
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.
Other NTSB records under N777EV the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.