Beechcraft Model 18 Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Accidents and incidents== The Beechcraft Model 18 family has been involved in the following notable accidents and incidents: * April 25, 1951: [[Cubana de Aviación Flight 493]], a [[Douglas DC-4]] bound from Miami to Havana, registration ''CU-T188'', collided with a U.S. Navy SNB-1, [[bureau number]] ''39939'', on a practice [[instrument flight rules|instrument]] approach to [[Naval Air Station Key West]]. The collision and ensuing crashes killed all 34 passengers and five crew aboard the DC-4 and all five crew aboard the SNB. The accident occurred at midday, weather was clear with unlimited visibility, and both flight crews had been cleared to fly under [[visual flight rules]], being expected to "see and avoid" other aircraft; the student flying the SNB was wearing view-limiting goggles, but the other SNB crew were not, and were expected to keep watch. Ground witnesses said that neither aircraft took evasive action prior to the collision, and the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] attributed the accident to the failure of both flight crews to see and avoid conflicting air traffic.<ref name=CAB_493>{{cite report |title=Investigation of Aircraft Accident: COMPANIA CUBANA DE AVIACION AND U.S. NAVY: KEY WEST, FLORIDA: 1951-04-25 |url=https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33414 |publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board |date=October 22, 1951 |docket=F-104-51 |access-date=January 18, 2022 }}</ref> * 1967: [[Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden]] was killed in the crash of a Beechcraft 18 in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bin Laden plane crash: aircraft went down in near perfect conditions |last=Doward |first=Jamie |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/01/aviation-experts-bin-laden-plane-crash-cause |date=August 2, 2015 |access-date=October 20, 2022}}</ref> * December 10, 1967: American [[soul music]] singer [[Otis Redding]], four members of his backing band the [[Bar-Kays]], the pilot, and another member of Redding's entourage were killed in the crash of Redding's H18, registration ''N390R'', into [[Lake Monona]] on approach to [[Dane County Regional Airport|Truax Field]] in Wisconsin. The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] (NTSB) was unable to determine the cause of the crash, noting that the left engine and propeller were not recovered.<ref name="ntsb_redding">{{cite report|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/15/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=15906&key=0 |title=NTSB Identification: CHI68A0053 |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |access-date=January 17, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |agency=United Press International | title=Singer Is Feared Dead In Air Crash |url=https://nyti.ms/3KcwNgy |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |date=December 11, 1967 }}</ref> Trumpet player [[Ben Cauley]], the sole survivor of the crash, subsequently revived the Bar-Kays together with another band member who was aboard a different aircraft.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press | title=Ben Cauley, Sole Survivor of Otis Redding Plane Crash, Dies at 67 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/arts/music/ben-cauley-sole-survivor-of-otis-redding-crash-dies-at-67.html |url-access=limited |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City |date=September 15, 2015 }}</ref> * September 20, 1973: American [[folk music]] singer-songwriter [[Jim Croce]], four members of his entourage, and the pilot were killed when their chartered E18S, registration ''N50JR'', crashed into a tree on takeoff from [[Natchitoches Regional Airport]] in Louisiana.<ref name=rstrap>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=py1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=5658%2C2870135 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Recording star, 5 others killed in crash of plane |date=September 22, 1973 |page=9}}</ref><ref name=AP>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2706&dat=19730922&id=NxZKAAAAIBAJ&pg=2941,1273229 |newspaper=The Michigan Daily |title=Rock group killed |agency=Associated Press |date=September 22, 1973 |page=2 |location=(Ann Arbor)}}</ref><ref name="ntsb_croce"/> The NTSB attributed the accident to reduced visibility due to fog, and to physical impairment of the pilot, who had severe [[coronary artery disease]] and had run {{cvt|3|mi|km}} to the airport.<ref name="ntsb_croce">{{cite report|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/Pages/brief.aspx?ev_id=84416&key=0 |title=NTSB Identification: FTW74AF017; 14 CFR Part 135 Nonscheduled operation of Robert Airways; Aircraft: Beech E18S, registration: N50JR |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |access-date=January 17, 2022 }}</ref> An investigation conducted for a lawsuit against the charter company attributed the accident solely to [[pilot error]], citing his downwind takeoff into a "black hole" of severe darkness, causing him to experience [[spatial disorientation]].<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Croce v. Bromley Corporation |vol=623 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=1084 |pinpoint= |court=5th Cir. |date=1980 |url=http://openjurist.org/623/f2d/1084/croce-v-bromley-corporation |access-date=January 17, 2022 |quote=The plaintiffs' expert medical witness testified at length that spatial disorientation resulting from the pilot's taking off into a "black hole" was the cause of the crash. See n.12, supra. This theory was buttressed by the testimony of Asher Vandenberg, a commercial, multiengine pilot with instrument ratings.}}</ref> * September 26, 1978: [[Air Caribbean Flight 309]], an [[air taxi]] flight by a D18S, registration ''N500L'', crashed on approach to [[Isla Verde International Airport]] in Puerto Rico, killing the pilot and the five passengers aboard the aircraft and causing substantial property damage and injuries to bystanders on the ground. The pilot could not communicate with [[Air traffic control#Approach and terminal control|approach control]] and was following directions relayed by local tower controllers, who told the pilot to make a turn and maintain separation from a [[Lockheed L-1011]] that was overtaking the flight, but the pilot did not turn, and the D18S passed underneath and very close to the L-1011. Both the NTSB and a U.S. District Court ruling attributed the crash to the D18S pilot's failure to correctly follow visual flight rules and air traffic control instructions to maintain separation from the much larger L-1011, causing a loss of aircraft control due to [[wake turbulence]].<ref name=NTSB_309>{{cite report |title=NTSB Identification: DCA78AA024 |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/Pages/brief.aspx?ev_id=39969&key=0 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=January 17, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=In Re N-500L Cases |vol=517 |reporter=F. Supp. |opinion=825 |pinpoint= |court=D.P.R. |date=1981 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/517/825/2387664/ |access-date=January 17, 2022 |quote= The Court finds that the pilot of N-500L was responsible, in the VFR flight conditions which existed on the night of the accident, to visualize and to avoid wake turbulence of EAL 75. By continuing into the flight path of EAL 75 the pilot of N-500L was negligent and this negligence was a proximate cause of the crash.}}</ref> A contributing factor was the pilot's difficulties in communication with controllers.<ref name=NTSB_309/> * July 4, 1987: Ten people, including all then-current members of [[The Montana Band]], were killed when the pilot of their chartered D18S, ''N132E'',<ref name=ntsb_montana/> failed to clear a hillside near [[Lakeside, Montana]], while performing a [[flypast]] of the venue where the band had performed earlier.<ref>{{cite web|author1=UPI|title=Montana Air Crash Kills Band|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-07-06/news/8702190223_1_pilot-band-montana|website=Chicago Tribune|access-date=25 March 2017|language=en|date=July 6, 1987|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221208191414/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-07-06-8702190223-story.html|archive-date= December 8, 2022|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Thornton|first1=Anthony|title=Band's Plane Goes Down; 3 Sooners Die|url=http://newsok.com/article/2191512/bands-plane-goes-down-3-sooners-die|website=NewsOK.com|access-date=27 April 2017|date=6 July 1987|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190501232817/http://newsok.com/article/2191512/bands-plane-goes-down-3-sooners-die|archive-date= May 1, 2019|url-status= dead}}</ref> The pilot performed an "abrupt" climb and performed a "[[stall turn|hammerhead stall]]" maneuver, reversing direction and entering a dive. The accident was attributed to the pilot's poor judgment and failure to maintain altitude during unauthorized attempted [[aerobatics]].<ref name=ntsb_montana>{{cite report|url=https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20001213X31495&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=MA |title=National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |docket=DEN87MA168 |date=February 24, 1989|access-date=December 31, 2022 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page