# Accident 20001017038551A: Beech C90, Van Nuys, CA, October 17, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 17, 2000, 15:50 local time - Place: Van Nuys, CA - Airport: Van Nuys Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Collision: Midair collision, first aircraft - Phase of flight: Final Approach - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: EIEA - Location: 34.1897° N, 118.4901° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1897&lon=-118.4901&mi=10 - Aircraft: N1801B, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1801B) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Beech C90 (registry code 1152913, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-c90) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: U/A Canada PT6A-6A&6B (registry code 61507, https://openairdocs.org/engine/u-a-canada-pt6a-6a-6b) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH C90 - Reported engine: PWA PT6A20 - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 2,750 total, 330 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01FA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01FA018) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001017038551A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) A GULFSTREAM G-1159-A, N162JC, COLLIDED WITH A BEECHCRAFT C-90, N1801B, WHILE BOTH AIRCRAFT WERE ON A 4-MILE FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 16R AT THE VAN NUYS AIRPORT, VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA. BOTH AIRCRAFT SUBSEQUENTLY LANDED SAFELY AT THE VAN NUYS AIRPORT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO ANY OF THE OCCUPANTS OF EITHER AIRCRAFT. THE BEECHCRAFT C-90 WAS OPERATING UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES WHILE THE GULFSTREAM G-1159-A WAS OPERATING U DER INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES. (.4) HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON OCTOBER 17, 2000, AT 1551 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A BEECH C90, N1801B, COLLIDED IN MIDAIR WITH A GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE G-1159A, N162JC, WHILE BOTH AIRCRAFT WERE ON 4-MILE FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 16R AT THE VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT. BOTH AIRCRAFT SUBSEQUENTLY LANDED SAFELY AT VAN NUYS AIRPORT, AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT CERTIFICATED PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS ABOARD THE BEECH C90, OR TO THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT CERTIFICATED PILOT AND TWO CREWMEMBERS ABOARD THE GULFSTREAM G-1159A. THE BEECH C90 WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AND THE GULFSTREAM G-1159A RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE. THE BEECH C90 WAS OPERATED ON A VISUAL FLIGHT RULE S FLIGHT PLAN UNDER 14 CFR PART 135 AS A NONSCHEDULED, DOMESTIC AIR TAXI FLIGHT BY SUN QUEST EXECUTIVE AIR CHARTER, AND HAD DEPARTED FROM BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, AT 1520. THE GULFSTREAM G-1159A WAS OPERATED UNDER INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES BY TRANS-EXEC AIR SERVICE, INC., UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 AS A POSITIONING FLIGHT, AND HAD DEPARTED FROM RENO, NEVADA, ABOUT 1500. A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, WHO WAS EMPLOYED BY THE FLIGHT SCHOOL DIVISION OF SUN QUEST EXECUTIVE AIR CHARTER, WITNESSED THE MIDAIR COLLISION FROM HIS CAR WHILE DRIVING WESTBOUND ON THE 118 FREEWAY JUST PAST THE 405 FREEWAY INTERCHANGE. THE INSTRUCTOR SAID HE JUST HAPPENED TO LOOK UPWARD AND HIS ATTENTION WAS ATTRACTED TO TWO AIRCRAFT FLYING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY, ONE BEHIND THE OTHER, NEARLY CO-SPEED BUT WITH THE REAR AIRCRAFT OVERTAKING THE AIRCRAFT IN FRONT OF IT. THE SWEPT WING AIRCRAFT THAT HE LATER LEARNED WAS A GULFSTREAM G3 WAS OVERTAKING A SMALLER AIRPLANE. HE COULDN'T JUDGE ALTITUDE PRECISELY; HOWEVER, AS HE WATCHED THE TWO AIRCRAFT CAME TOGETHER AND THE SMALLER AIRPLANE SHUDDERED AND THEN DROPPED DOWN OUT OF VIEW BEHIND SOME TREES. IT APPEARED THE LARGER, SWEPT-WING AIRCRAFT INITIATED A GO-AROUND MANEUVER. ANOTHER WITNESS OBSERVED THE COLLISION FROM HIS HOME IN THE 10,000 BLOCK OF ODESSA AVENUE (2 MILES NORTH OF THE VAN NUYS AIRPORT). HE REPORTED LOOKING UP AFTER HEARING A JET AIRCRAFT AND SEEING A CORPORATE JET AIRCRAFT (WHICH HE IDENTIFIED AS A "G-3", I.E. GULFSTREAM) MAKING WHAT HE CONSIDERED A NORMAL APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT BUT WITH A SMALLER, TWIN-ENGINE PROPELLER AIRCRAFT (WHICH HE IDENTIFIED AS A "KING AIR") BEHIND AND TO THE LEFT OF THE CORPORATE JET. THE KING AIR WAS ABOUT ONE PLANE LENGTH BEHIND THE GULFSTREAM, ONE FUSELAGE DIAMETER BELOW THE JET, AND WAS OFFSET TO THE LEFT SO THAT THE FUSELAGE CENTERLINE OF THE KING AIR WAS EVEN WITH THE GULFSTREAM'S LEFT WINGTIP. AS HE WATCHED FOR THE NEXT 5 - 7 SECONDS, THE KING AIR OVERTOOK THE GULFSTREAM UNTIL THE KING AIR WAS UNDER THE LEFT WING OF THE GULFSTREAM. ABOUT THE TIME THE KING AIR WAS UNDER THE WING OF THE GULFSTREAM, THE VERTICAL GAP ALSO CLOSED AND HE OBSERVED THE KING AIR TO "MAKE SOME SLIGHT MANEUVERING MOTIONS. THE WINGS AND FUSELAGE MOVED AROUND SOME. THE KING AIR THEN FLUTTERED LIKE A FALLING LEAF. THE NOSE POINTED DOWN AND THE KING AIR DOVE TOWARD THE GROUND WITH ITS WINGS ROCKING BACK AND FORTH." THE KING AIR THEN RECOVERED AND CONTINUED FLYING TOWARD THE AIRPORT. HE HEARD THE ENGINES OF THE GULFSTREAM INCREASE IN POWER AND THE AIRCRAFT PULLED UP AND BANKED RIGHT BEFORE CONTINUING TOWARD THE AIRPORT. HE LOST SIGHT OF BOTH AIRPLANES ABOUT 5 - 7 SECONDS AFTER THE COLLISION. ## Other aircraft in the event - N162JC, Gulstm G1159A: [Accident 20001017038552A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001017038552A) ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX01FA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01FA018), Oct 17, 2000: Beech C90 (N1801B), Van Nuys, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot of the other airplane to correctly set a new transponder code and an anomaly in ATC software that precluded the controller from manually overriding the resulting inhibition… ## Other reports on N1801B (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19940903034119I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940903034119I), Sep 3, 1994: Beech C90 (N1801B), Tulsa, OK, Minor damage. Main entry door separated on climb to cruise. Caused decompression. Emergency descent. Returned to Tulsa. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.