Beech TC-45J accident near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1989
On March 6, 1989 at about 2:25 pm local time, a Beech TC-45J, registered N45861, was substantially damaged in an accident near Johnstown, Pennsylvania (Johnstown-Cambria County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN RUNWAY ALIGNMENT. THE CROSSWIND AND SNOW COVERED RUNWAY WERE RELATED FACTORS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 6, 1989 · about 2:25 pm local time
- Place
- Johnstown, Pennsylvania · Johnstown-Cambria County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech TC-45J · all TC-45Js on the register
- Registration
- N45861 · no longer on the register · serial 46-7236
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT LANDED THE ACFT ON RWY 33 IN IMC WITH SNOW FALLING & SNOW ON THE RWY. THE WIND WAS FROM 050 DEG A 14 KTS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT SLID OFF THE SIDE OF THE RWY & THE NOSE GEAR FAILED.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,851 hours in all; 3,075 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 69 in the last 30 days; 7,000 as pilot in command; 2,800 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,164 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 23, 1989; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,625 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHL Philadelphia PA at 12:55 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 33, 5,486 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 14 knots
- Sky: broken clouds at 400 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:14 pm from JST
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.
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 NYC89LA108.