- Date
- August 10, 1989, 11:23 local (15:23 UTC)
- Place
- Raleigh, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N55TPBeech E55
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890810028579A
- Case key
- 7912
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation while operating in instrument weather conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight had departed Raleigh durham intl airport at 1119. At 1122 the flight was cleared to the tar river VOR. The pilot 'rogered' the instructions, and this was the last recorded conversation. Witnesses reported hearing the engines revving up before the airplane impacted the ground, and one witness reported seeing the airplane in a nose low attitude before the impact. The pilot did not report experiencing weather difficulties. There were no depictions of thunderstorm activity within the flight's flight path vicinity on ATC radar. No pre-impact failure/malfunction was found. Radar data showed some instability in heading, altitude and airspeed between 1120:51 and 1123:40.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55TP
- Reported as
- Beech E55
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TE-965
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-C, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Kitty Hawk Flyers
- Registered owner
- Kitty Hawk Flyers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 3, 1989
- Departed
- Raleigh, NC
- Destination
- Manteo, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- RDU · Raleigh Durham Intl
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU, 7 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.