Beechcraft B99 N339HA
23 September 1985 · Grottoes, Virginia, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 23 September 1985 at about 14:20 local time, a Beechcraft B99 registered N339HA was involved in an accident near Grottoes, Virginia, United States. 14 people were on board and 14 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 14:20
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Grottoes, Virginia, United States
- Nearest airport
- Shenandoah Valley (SHD)
- Coordinates
- 38.2597, -78.8197
- Aircraft
- Beechcraft B99
- Registration
- N339HA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Baltimore → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- IMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- DCA85AA037
People
14 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
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
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Beechcraft B99 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Oct 1982 | Beechcraft B99 | Clarksville, Tennessee, United States | Air Kentucky Airline | No injuries | - |
| 17 Jun 1981 | Beechcraft B99 | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States | Royale Airline | No injuries | - |
| 23 Sep 1980 | Beechcraft B99 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Chautaugua Air | No injuries | - |
| 31 Oct 1979 | Beechcraft B99 | Abilene, Texas, United States | Chaparral Airl | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Aug 1978 | Beechcraft B99 | Pullman, Washington, United States | Cascade Airway | Minor injuries | - |
| 31 Jan 1978 | Beechcraft B99 | Morgantown, West Virginia, United States | Aero Mech Inc | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Apr 1985 | Boeing 737-217 | Chantilly, Virginia, United States | People Express | No injuries | - |
| 2 Jun 1985 | Douglas DC-10-30F | Chantilly, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 1985 | Boeing 727-225 | Richmond, Virginia, United States | Eastern Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 4 Feb 1985 | Piper PA-24-250 | Chantilly, Virginia, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 6 Feb 1985 | Piper PA-31-350 | Lynchburg, Virginia, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Feb 1985 | Cessna 152 | Manassas, Virginia, United States | Dulles Aviation Inc. | No injuries | - |