Beech 58 accident near Ashland, Oregon, September 5, 2001
On September 5, 2001 at about 2:15 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N18414, was destroyed in an accident near Ashland, Oregon. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the terrain after inadvertently entering an area of instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) during a visual flight rules (VFR) flight. Factors include mountainous/hilly terrain and low ceilings in the area where the pilot was maneuvering.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 5, 2001 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Ashland, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N18414 · registry record · serial TH-861
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft made a visual flight rules (VFR) departure from the airport underneath a solid overcast, and headed in a direction that took it toward rising mountainous/hilly terrain. In the area where the pilot approached the mountainous terrain, the clouds were touching the top of the ridges in all quadrants, but the visibility underneath the overcast was extensive. As the pilot attempted to maneuver the aircraft below the overcast in the restrictive environment of the mountain valleys, he inadvertently entered the cloud base, and soon thereafter collided with the terrain.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,094 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 31, 2000; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S03 Ashland OR at 2:10 pm
- Destination: SDL Scottsdale AZ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,300 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 pm from KMFR, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.