Piqua Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Piqua, Ohio 45356
Friday, August 24, 2001 6:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airline transport rated pilot was attempting to land under visual flight rules for a scheduled passenger pick-up and subsequent charter flight. The pilot was communicating with a pilot at the airport, who was utilizing a hand held radio. The accident pilot reported he was not able to see the runway lights due to ground fog and continued to circle the airport for about 20 minutes. The pilot on the ground stated the airplane appeared to be about 1,500 feet above the ground when it circled, and then entered a downwind for runway 26. He was not able to hear or see the airplane as it flew away from the airport. He then began to hear the airplane during its final approach. The airplane's engines sounded normal. He then heard a "terrible sound of impact," followed by silence. When he arrived at the accident site, the airplane was fully engulfed in flames. The airplane impacted trees about 80-feet tall, located about 2,000 feet from, and on a 240 degree course to the approach end of runway 26. Several freshly broken tree limbs and trunks, up to 15-inches in diameter, were observed strewn along a debris path, which measured 370 feet. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions. The weather reported at an airport about 19 miles south-southeast of the accident site, included a visibility of 1 3/4 miles, in mist, with clear skies and a temperature and dew point of 17 degrees Celsius. Witnesses in the area of the accident site generally described conditions of "thick fog" and a resident who lived across from the accident site stated visibility was "near zero" and he could barely see across the road.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper decision to attempt a visual landing under instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with trees. A factor in this accident was the ground fog.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/24/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 640
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Piqua
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45356
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 401007N
Event Location Longitude 0841805W
Event Location Airport PIQUA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID I17
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 60
Airport Elevation 994
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 645 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 165
Weather Observation Facility ID DAY
Elevation of weather observation facility 1009
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Dawn
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 1.75
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.13
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12115
NTSB Notification Source FAA Great Lakes Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Aug 24 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 720
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2002 11:02AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Cincinnati

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N18260
NTSB Number NYC01FA215
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model BE-200
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number BB-900
Certified Max Gross Weight 12500
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 11
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Jul 27 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 10821
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Middletown Corporate Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 235 Industrial Dr
Aircraft Owner City Franklin
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45005
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 I19
Departure City DAYTON
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code I17
Destination City Piqua
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2002 8:46AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 3997
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --