Boeing PT-17 STEARMAN accident near So. Charleston, West Virginia, September 22, 1998
On September 22, 1998 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Boeing PT-17 STEARMAN, registered N58095, was substantially damaged in an accident near So. Charleston, West Virginia (Mallory 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 control of the airplane during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 22, 1998 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- So. Charleston, West Virginia · Mallory Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing PT-17 STEARMAN PT-17 STEA · all PT-17 STEARMANs on the register
- Registration
- N58095 · no longer on the register · serial 75-4386
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot landed on a dry, 24 foot-wide runway, and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot overcorrected, and the airplane went off the right side of the runway. The airplane slid on wet grass, impacted a ditch, and flipped over.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,048 hours in all; 55 in this make and model; 46 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 1,871 as pilot in command; 344 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,950 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 1998; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental R670 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WV12 at 8:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 2,000 ft by 24 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.