Beech B60 accident near Fort Walton Beach, FL

On August 30, 2018, a Beech B60 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Walton Beach, FL. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

August 30, 2018

Place

Fort Walton Beach, FL

Aircraft

Beech B60 · Airplane

Injuries

4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

30.495°N, 86.574°W

NTSB ID

20180830X22058

Official records · CEN18FA358

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• Air Traffic Control Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Radar Track: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Summary: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 30, 2018, about 1030 central daylight time, a Beechcraft B60 airplane, N1876L, impacted terrain near Fort Walton Beach, Florida, during a planned approach to Destin Executive Airport (DTS), Destin, Florida. The commercial pilot and three passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Henry Leasing Company LLC as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for the cross-country flight, which departed Toledo Executive Airport (TOL), Millbury, Ohio, about 0747. A review of air traffic control communications revealed that the pilot was in contact with the Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) approach controller, who contacted the DTS tower controller at 1028 to report that the an IFR flight was inbound at 12 miles to the northwest. As the airplane approached the destination airport, the pilot canceled his IFR clearance and proceeded under visual flight rules (VFR). The approach controller contacted the DTS tower controller at 1031 to advise that the airplane was operating under VFR. Also at 1031, the DTS tower controller contacted the pilot and asked for the airplane's position. The pilot responded, "we're about 2 out for [runway] 1-4," which was the last communication received from the pilot. GPS data recovered from a portable onboard unit showed the airplane's track as it approached DTS. The last data point, at 1032, indicated that the airpla

Probable cause

The pilot's controlled flight into terrain after misidentifying the destination airport during a period of restricted visibility due to weather.

More accidents in FL

• Grumman G-73T, Dec 19, 2005
• Beech B90, Jan 5, 1994
• Beech B-90, Sep 3, 1999
• Cessna 182B, Feb 7, 1982
• Pilatus Aircraft Ltd PC-12/47, Jun 7, 2012

Browse: Florida · Beech aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.