Beech C23 accident near Purcellville, VA
On March 4, 2021, a Beech C23 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Purcellville, VA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 4, 2021
- Place
- Purcellville, VA
- Aircraft
- Beech C23 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.230°N, 77.748°W
- NTSB ID
- 20210304102711
Official records · ERA21FA148
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 4, 2021, about 1510 eastern standard time, a Beech C-23, N67013, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Purcellville, Virginia. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot was departing from runway 19 at Krens Farm Airport (14VA), Hillsboro, Virginia. A witness reported hearing the airplane take off and looked back to watch it depart. When she saw the airplane, it was “tilted to the left” as it descended into the trees. She heard the engine the entire time and stated that it made “traditional engine noises.” In addition, she noted that relative to the airplane’s takeoff direction, a tailwind prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot’s son reported that his father always took off from runway 19 because of the slope of the runway. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe 1455 recorded weather observation at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), Leesburg, Virginia, located about 13 miles southeast of the accident location, included wind from 310° at 24 knots gusting to 29 knots. Interpolation of the crosswind component chart revealed that there was about a 21-knot right crosswind and a tailwind component of 12 knots gusting to 14 knots at the time of the accident. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane struck several trees beginning about 326 feet southeast of the departure end of runway 19 at an elevation of about 690 ft mean sea level. (see Figure 1.) From the area of the initial tree strikes, there was a debris field that was 306 ft lo
Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to depart from the short turf runway with a tailwind.
More accidents in VA
- Boeing 757-200, Sep 11, 2001
- Beech B99, Sep 23, 1985
- Beech 65, Sep 10, 1995
- Beech 200, Oct 24, 2004
- Piper PA-31-310, Nov 14, 1982
Browse: Virginia · Beech aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
