- Date
- September 3, 2022, 10:21 local (15:21 UTC)
- Place
- Tupelo, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N342ERBeech C90A
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Security/criminal event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Jackson Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20220903021559A
- Case key
- 105984
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 uncertificated pilot’s criminal act of stealing the airplane and later performing an off-airport landing that resulted in an impact with terrain.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The uncertificated pilot stole the accident airplane with the intent of crashing it into a department store located 2 miles southeast of the airport. However, he continued to fly the airplane in the area for several hours until he performed an off-airport landing in a field 32 miles northwest of the departure airport that resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N342ER
- Reported as
- Beech C90A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- LJ-1156
- Built
- 1987
- Engines
- P&W Canada PT6A-60A, 550 horsepower, turbo propP&W Canada PT6A-60A, 550 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- Southeast Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- TUP · Tupelo, MA
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 31 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.08 inHg
- Observed at
- TUP, 32 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 573 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.