- Date
- September 26, 1987, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Block Island, RI
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4158ABeech E55
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 30734
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
Just before lift-off, after the aircraft had accellerated to about 115 mph, the door on the passenger's side came open. The pilot immediately aborted the takeoff, but was unable to stop on the remaining portion of the 2500' runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft went through a fence, down a gully and onto a road before coming to rest. No preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure was reported.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4158A
- Reported as
- Beech E55
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TE796
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-C/CB, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John R. Degan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- BID · Block Island, runway 28, 2,500 × 100 ft, macadam
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,950 total · 347 in this make and model · 4,880 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 10 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Observed at
- BID