Beech C90-1 accident near Meridian, Mississippi, January 31, 2008
On January 31, 2008 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Beech C90-1, registered N901JB, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Meridian, Mississippi. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inadvertent encounter with in-cloud turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 2008 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Meridian, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech C90-1 · all C90-1s on the register
- Registration
- N901JB · registry record · serial LJ1030
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Beech C90-1 was on autopilot, level, and between cloud layers, at 17,000 feet. The pilot saw some buildups ahead, and to avoid the largest one, asked air traffic control for a "slight turn" and a climb to flight level (FL) 190, which was approved. Nothing on the weather radar or stormscope indicated any severe weather ahead. Upon entering the clouds, in a right climbing turn, the airplane "almost immediately" encountered severe turbulence, and was "thrown inverted" in a nose-down attitude. As the airplane gained airspeed, the pilot pulled the throttles to idle and pushed the propeller levers full forward. He then rolled the airplane upright and had to pull the yoke "extremely hard" to recover from the dive. The event began about 17,500 feet, and the recovery was complete at 10,500 feet. The pilot then climbed the airplane to FL 190, and completed the rest of the flight uneventfully. On the subsequent preflight inspection, the pilot found wrinkling in wing sheet metal.
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
What happened, in order
- Turbulence encounter during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Loss of control in flight during enroute (climb to cruise)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › (general) › Not specified
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft structures › (general) › (general) › Capability exceeded
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TUP Tupelo MS
- Destination: JKA Gulf Shores AL
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.