- Date
- September 23, 1985, 10:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Grottoes, VA
- Injuries
- 14 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N339HABeech B99
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- FAA report
- 19850923077429A
- Case key
- 15839
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
Acft arr fm the NE, crossed ovr the arpt in IMC conds & contd twd the sw to the initial apch fix (iaf) for an ILS rwy 4 apch. The iaf was ovr the outer marker (om), 4.2 mi sw of the arpt. As the acft deptd the iaf, it contd outbnd twd the sw on an imprecise track for aprx 1 min, made a procedure turn (pt) by turning rgt (west), then back left (east) twd the localizer (LOC). Inbnd hdg for the LOC was 045 deg. Radar contact was lost drg the pt. As the pt was completed, the acft angled to the east of the LOC & intercepted the 045 deg radial of the montebello (mol) VOR. Subsequently, the acft hit a mtn top while in lvl flt at 2400' along the mol 045 radial. Cld bases were at aprx 2000'. No preimpact part prblm was fnd. Acft rdo instln was nonstandard, not FAA approved; 1 adf & 2 nav displays were in unsuit location for coplt. Rdo transcript indcd plts were uncertain of geographic psn bfr impact. Company plt exp reduced by recent plt turnover. Both plts had lmtd exp in respective psns. Hi noise lvl in cockpit made conversation difficult. Lack of FAA surveillance
Aircraft
- Registration
- N339HA
- Reported as
- Beech B99
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U-156
- Engine
- P&W PT6A-27, 680 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Henson Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- BWI · Baltimore, MD
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- SHD · Shenandoah Valley, runway 4, 6,002 × 150 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,447 total · 301 in this make and model · 2,428 as pilot in command · 240 in the last 90 days · 90 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SHD, 6 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.