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MIA89FA210 · Beech A24R

2 Aug 1989 · Sarasota, FL, United States

Beech A24R · Accident: airframe, component or system failure during initial climb

From an unrecorded airport to Witham Field (SUA)

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Event

NTSB case
MIA89FA210
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
2 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Beech A24R

Aircraft type
Beechcraft 24
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N24586
Operator
Unknown
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo Witham Field (SUA), Stuart, FL
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Initial climb
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Airframe, component or system failure
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Stall/mush
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Airspeed(vs), not maintained
  • Pilot in command › Stall/mush, inadvertent
  • Propeller system/accessories, hub › Fatigue
  • Propeller system/accessories, hub › Previous damage

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT CLIMB TO AN ALT OF ABOUT 500 TO 800 FT AGL AFTER TAKING OFF FROM RWY 32. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, THEY HEARD A LOUD NOISE FM THE ACFT, THEN THEY NOTED THAT THE ENG SOUND HAD CEASED. THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO MANEUVER AS IF THE PLT WAS TRYING TO RETURN TO THE RWY. THE PLT TRANSMITTED A 'MAYDAY' REPORT, STATING HE HAD 'LOST THE ENGINE.' WHILE TURNING BACK TO THE RWY, THE LEFT WING & NOSE OF THE ACFT DROPPED & THE PLANE ENTERED A LEFT DSCNDG TURN. IT IMPACTED THE GND IN A NR FLAT ATTITUDE WHILE IN A HIGH RATE OF DSCNT, THEN IT SLID INTO A TREE & BURNED. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED 1 PROP BLADE HAD SEPD FM THE HUB DRG FLT. A METALLURGICAL EXAM SHOWED THE HUB HAD FAILED FM FATIGUE. DRG THE PREVIOUS 87 HRS OF OPN, THE ACFT HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN TWO OCCURRENCES OF GEAR COLLAPSE, WHICH RESULTED IN PROP STRIKES WITH THE GND. ACCORDING TO RECORDS, THE HUB WAS INSPECTED & FOUND TO BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MANUFACTURER (MCCAULEY) & THE FAA. THE PLT'S PREVIOUS FLT TIME IN THIS MAKE/MODEL OF ACFT WAS NOT DETERMINED.

Probable cause

FAILURE OF THE PROPELLER HUB DUE TO PREVIOUS DAMAGE, WHICH RESULTED IN SUBSEQUENT FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE HUB; AND FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN FLYING SPEED, WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL AND SUBSEQUENT IMPACT WITH THE GROUND. INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE/INSPECTION OF THE PROPELLER HUB (AFTER THE PROPELLER STRIKES) WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record MIA89FA210
Event ID
20001213X29174
Case number
MIA89FA210
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: c215f4e6a9c26813832ed4af1d31a9a612a7116dc47d567d4b146f4659cd0d18; retrieved 2026-09-21T03:12:46.447Z.