Beechcraft 65-B80 N138BA

Summary

On 17 October 1998 at about 05:33 local time, a Beechcraft 65-B80 registered N138BA was involved in an accident near Brainerd, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 October 1998 at 05:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Brainerd, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

46.3495, -94.1900

Aircraft

Beechcraft 65-B80

Registration

N138BA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minneapolis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI99LA008

1 person had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath and his diversion of attention during a critical phase of flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that during the ILS approach he reached a point where he thought he should be seeing the approach lights. He said that he checked the radio to determine if it was on the correct frequency. He said that he realized that the transmit switch was selected to the wrong radio and when he returned his attention to the instruments, he realized that he had allowed the airplane to descend low on the glide path. He said that before he could react, the airplane impacted the terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.