- Date
- December 10, 1986, 07:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Ivel, KY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7975MBeech C-55
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19861210082349A
- Case key
- 31741
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
The plt who was originally scheduled to make the charter flt to pick up the pax was reluctant to do so due to low ceilings in the mountainous area at the destination. The owner of the company took the flt & the flt was observed by witnesses near the destination to be flying in & out of the clouds between & below the mountain tops. Witnesses estimated the alt to be between 150 & 300 ft AGL. The destination arpt 3 mi from the crash site was completely 'fogged in' with visibility under 100 yds. The acft struck the top of a cloud covered mountain. The plt had been previously cited by FAA for violations of FAR including careless & reckless operation of acft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7975M
- Reported as
- Beech C-55
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TE 207
- Airframe hours
- 5,389
- Engine
- Continental IO-520C, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Air West Virginia,Inc.
- Registered owner
- Bates Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 4, 1986 · 69 hours before
- Departed
- HTS · Huntington, WV
- Destination
- 7K0 · Pikeville, KY
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
- 57
- 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
- 14,500 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 250 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JKL, 35 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.