Kinston Regional Jetport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kinston, North Carolina 28503
Wednesday, July 3, 1996 2:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After being awake about 20 hrs, the pilot (plt) departed on a positioning flight (flt) at 0217 EDT after two previous flts; although, she said she contemplated 'staying the night in Raleigh because of the fatigue.' She used the aircraft (acft) heater, on the ground & during takeoff. She said that en route, she felt fatigued & contemplated returning to the departure airport, but continued flt. About 5 min before starting a VOR approach (apch), plt turned off the heater. Two times, while being vectored for apch, plt incorrectly read back the direction of turn (left vs right), but other details & radio transmissions were accurate & responsive. The plt said she fell asleep after putting gear down on apch Acft then collided with trees & the ground. Time of accident was about 0250 EDT. Postcrash fire erupted, but plt egressed with injuries that were considered minor. Investigators requested blood specimens to test for carboxyhemoglobin [carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning], but specimens were not provided. (Plt said that due to extreme pain, her doctor opted not to proceed with test.) Pressure testing of heater revealed leaks at a gasket & screw (where fuel nozzle was mounted) & at 2 of 3 cross-over tubes; but these were attributed to impact damage. No evidence was found of any preimpact heater failure or malfunction that would have allowed CO to have entered the cockpit. Two plts used the heater on previous flts, but neither of them noticed any heater problem or symptoms of CO poisoning. About 18 miles west, at 0255 EDT, the ceiling was 300 feet broken. MDA for the approach was 352 feet AGL (440 msl).

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain minimum descent altitude (MDA) during approach because of fatigue.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/3/1996
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 250
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City KINSTON
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28503
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport KINSTON REGIONAL JETPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ISO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 52
Airport Elevation 94
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 255 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 275
Weather Observation Facility ID KGS
Elevation of weather observation facility 109
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 18
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1492
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 3 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 421
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:13AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Unknown
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N23806
NTSB Number MIA96LA174
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model 58
Aircraft Series Identifier 58
Aircraft Serial Number TH 908
Certified Max Gross Weight 5400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 7 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 59
Airframe Hours 2342
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JERRY R. HILL SR.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3201 W. VERNON AVE.
Aircraft Owner City KINSTON
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28501
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name ISO AERO SERVICE, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 1294
Operator City KINSTON
Operator State NC
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 28503
Operator Code ISOA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code RDU
Departure City RALEIGH
Departure State NC
Departure Country
Departure Time 217
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code ISO
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 7500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --