Beech 99A accident near Spokane, Washington, December 24, 1988
On December 24, 1988 at about 2:20 pm local time, a Beech 99A, registered N4954W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Spokane, Washington (Spokane Int'L 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 24, 1988 · about 2:20 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Spokane, Washington · Spokane Int'L · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 99A · all 99As on the register
- Registration
- N4954W · no longer on the register · serial U-82
- 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
ACFT WAS LEFT OVERNIGHT IN HEAVY PRECIP. PLT FAILED TO ENSURE FUSELAGE DRAINS WERE CLEAR AND WATER ACCUMULATION DRAINED BEFORE DEPARTING INTO BELOW FREEZING FLIGHT TEMPS. ON LNDG AT DEST, PLT UNABLE TO ACHIEVE FLARE, RESULTING IN HARD LNDG. INVESTIGATION REVEALED ELEVATOR CABLES AND PULLEYS FROZEN IN SOLID BLOCK OF ICE AT FUSELAGE LOW POINT.
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: 19,512 hours in all; 618 in this make and model; 99 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 22,113 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 15, 1988; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Methow Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PDX Portland OR at 12:40 pm
- Destination: GEG
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 050° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:28 pm from GEG
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.
Other NTSB records under N4954W the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N4954W: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Beechcraft 99 Airliner 34 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 28 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Gage Airport · nearest airport
- Portland International · departed from
- Spokane International · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Washington 2,713 since 1982 · 362 in the last ten years
- Washington 10,662 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N4954W 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA89LA031.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.