Beech E-90 accident near Winslow, AR
On May 17, 2023, a Beech E-90 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Winslow, AR. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 17, 2023
- Place
- Winslow, AR
- Aircraft
- Beech E-90 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.842°N, 94.148°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230517174548
Official records · CEN23FA190
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript Of ATC Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 17, 2023, about 1237 central daylight time, a Beech E-90 airplane, N522MJ, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Winslow, Arkansas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Before the flight, the pilot contacted an avionics repair facility at Drake Field Airport (FYV), Fayetteville, Arkansas, to discuss autopilot issues that he was having with the airplane. He told the avionics technician that when engaged in heading hold mode the autopilot would roll the airplane into a steep left bank. The technician asked the pilot to perform ground checks of the autopilot system, but there were no discrepancies noted. He then asked the pilot to perform a maintenance flight in visual meteorological conditions to test the autopilot system. The pilot told the technician that during the test flight, the airplane still entered a left roll, and that he disengaged the autopilot once a 40° bank was reached. The technician advised the pilot that he would need to bring the airplane in for service and to not utilize the autopilot during the flight. The pilot planned to fly the airplane to FYV and leave it at the avionics facility for maintenance and return home via a commercial flight. On the morning of the accident flight, the pilot called the avionics technician and told him that he may have to delay his departure due to inclement weather at the departure airport. The avionics technician stressed that he told the pilot that there was no urgency on their part and that the pi
Probable cause
The pilot’s poor preflight decision to depart into known instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) without a functional autopilot system, which resulted in spatial disorientation and his failure to maintain aircraft control while flying in IMC during the instrument approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s self-imposed pressure to conduct the flight.
More accidents in AR
- Beech 65-A80, May 16, 2005
- Cessna 208B, Apr 28, 2001
- Piper PA-23-250, Nov 17, 2002
- Grumman G1159, Jan 19, 1990
- Piper PA-31-350, May 8, 2005
Browse: Arkansas · 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.
