Beechcraft 1900D N148SK

Summary

On 24 May 1996 at about 01:00 local time, a Beechcraft 1900D registered N148SK, operated by Astral Aviation, was involved in an incident near Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. 20 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 May 1996 at 01:00

Classification

Incident

Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Indianapolis Intl (IND)

Coordinates

39.7307, -86.2896

Aircraft

Beechcraft 1900D

Registration

N148SK

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Astral Aviation

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Milwaukee

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96IA170

Nobody was injured.

failure of a forward cabin ventilation blower motor bearing, which resulted in binding of the blower motor; and inadequate design of the electrical system, which allowed overheating of the electrical circuit and smoke in the cabin of the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after taking off, the crew of the airplane noted smoke in the cabin, and they returned and landed at the departure airport. Investigation revealed that a bearing in the forward cabin ventilation blower motor had failed. There was evidence that after the bearing had failed, the wires and resistors to the ventilation motor had overheated. The wires were charred and sooted on the blower motor housing. The resistors (for low speed fan operation) showed signs of heat damage. Current limiters were provided to protect the electrical circuit. However, research revealed that the wiring and resistors were not adequately protected in the low speed fan mode.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.