Beech E-18S accident near Mabie, West Virginia, March 6, 1997
On March 6, 1997 at about 5:21 am local time, a Beech E-18S, registered N54BT, was destroyed in an accident near Mabie, West Virginia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's disregard of the preflight weather briefing for severe weather along his route of flight, and his departure into the known and forecasted severe weather. A factor in the accident was the inadequate FAA oversight of the operator, which fostered an attitude of rule bending.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 6, 1997 · about 5:21 am local time
- Place
- Mabie, West Virginia
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech E-18S · all E-18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N54BT · registry record · serial BA-56
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight had been delayed due to severe weather over the departure airport. The preflight weather briefing received by the pilot included AIRMETS and SIGMETS for icing and severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, hail to 2 inches, and wind gusts to 70 knots near the ground. The Beech 18 was not equipped with a storm scope or weather radar. Prior to takeoff, a passenger stated to a witness that the weather was 'really really bad,' and that they would have to 'do some deviating to get around it.' After takeoff, the airplane cruised at 10,000 feet uneventfully for 1 hour and 50 minutes, when a center controller advised that radar contact was lost, which the pilot acknowledged. The next and last transmission occurred 13 minutes later when the controller received a 'Mayday' radio transmission that the airplane was 'going down.' The last radar target revealed a 6,000 foot per minute rate of descent. Training records revealed the pilot, also the company chief pilot, had flown solo 6.3 hours in the Beech 18 and credited it as dual flight instruction. He then passed a Part 135 evaluation with the FAA Principal Operations Inspector (POI), which lasted 1.6 hours. The next day the POI issued the pilot check airmen authorization for the Beech 18, all models. According to the POI, the airplane was not approved for Part 135 operations; however, the company had a bogus approval for the airplane, signed by the POI, that allowed the company to apply to Canadian Authorities for authorization to operate in Canada. The bogus approval had been used to justify the accident flight.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 1,980 as pilot in command; 750 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,196 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 29, 1996; 38 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: W77 Sanford NC at 3:17 am
- Destination: DET Detroit MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 280° at 26 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:26 am from EKN, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.