Beech F-33A accident near West Brookfield, Massachusetts, March 4, 1991
On March 4, 1991, a Beech F-33A, registered N77Y, was destroyed in an accident near West Brookfield, Massachusetts (Palmer Metropolitan airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE DECISION OF THE PILOT TO FLY THE AIRPLANE IN CONDITIONS THAT PREVENTED HIM FROM SEEING AND AVOIDING HIGHER TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT'S DECISION TO NOT FOLLOW THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH INTO PALMER, AND THE REDUCED VISIBILITY DUE TO RAIN, FOG AND NIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 1991
- Place
- West Brookfield, Massachusetts · Palmer Metropolitan
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech F-33A · all F-33As on the register
- Registration
- N77Y · registry record · serial CE-920
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRPLANE STRUCK TREES ON UNLIGHTED, RISING TERRAIN AFTER FLYING AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO TONE AIRPORT AND ATTEMPTING TO PROCEED TO ANOTHER AIRPORT. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED 700 FEET BELOW APPROACH MINIMUMS AND 6 MILES AWAY FROM THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH AIRPORT AT NIGHT WITH RAIN AND LOW CLOUDS PRESENT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE AIRPLANE OPERATING BELOW THE MINIMUM ALTITUDES FOR THE INSTRUMENT APPROACH AND NOT FOLLOWING THE PUBLISHED APPROACH PROCEDURE. THE PILOT SAID HE DECIDED TO TURN BACK TO THE FIRST AIRPORT AND IN THE PROGRESS THE AIRPLANE STRUCK RISING TERRAIN. THE PILOT SAID THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE OR AIRFRAME.
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: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 15,365 hours in all; 1,284 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days; 5,399 as pilot in command; 9,283 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,820 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 10, 1990; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ACK Nantucket MA at 11:20 pm
- Destination: PMX Palmer MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.
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.