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ATL90FA024 · Beech C90

5 Nov 1989 · Gadsden, AL, United States

Gulf States Steel Beech C90 and Aviation Services of Gadsden Cessna 172P · Accident: midair collision during initial climb

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Event

NTSB case
ATL90FA024
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
4 · 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

Aircraft 1 · Beech C90

Aircraft type
Beechcraft 90
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
N3804F
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), Greer, SC
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
Midair collision
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Aircraft 2 · Cessna 172P

Aircraft type
Cessna 172
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
N52244
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
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
Midair collision
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

  • Copilot/second pilot › Visual lookout, inadequate
  • Dual student › Visual lookout, inadequate
  • Pilot in command › Visual lookout, inadequate
  • Pilot in command(cfi) › Visual lookout, inadequate
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Visual lookout, inadequate

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

NTSB narrative

A BEECH C90 (N3804F) & A CESSNA 172 (N52244) COLLIDED AT AN ALT OF ABOUT 200 TO 300 FT AGL AS THE 2 ACFT WERE TAKING OFF ON INTERSECTING RWYS AT AN UNCONTROLLED ARPT. THE BEECH PLTS WERE DEPARTING FROM RWY 6 WITH AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN, WHILE THE CESSNA PLTS WERE IN THE PATTERN ON AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLT, PERFORMING A TOUCH & GO. TWO ATP PILOTS WERE IN THE BEECH; AN INSTRUCTOR PLT (CFI) & A LOW-TIME STUDENT WERE IN THE CESSNA. BASED ON WITNESS INFORMATION, THE CESSNA CREW MADE AT LEAST 1 RADIO CALL ON UNICOM WHILE IN THE PATTERN BEFORE LNDG, AND ANOTHER CALL WHILE TAKING OFF. THE BEECH CREW REPORTEDLY MADE A RADIO CALL AS THE TAKEOFF ROLL WAS BEGUN. NEITHER FLT CREW APPEARED TO TAKE ANY EVASIVE ACTION UNTIL JUST BEFORE IMPACT. THE BEECH PLTS HAD RECEIVED A FLT PLAN CLEARANCE ON ANOTHER FREQ SHORTLY BEFORE TAKING OFF.

Probable cause

FAILURE OF THE PILOTS OF BOTH AIRCRAFT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT TO SEE-AND-AVOID THE OTHER AIRCRAFT.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record ATL90FA024
Event ID
20001213X29734
Case number
ATL90FA024
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: 207433d19094c4aa0cae60bbcad44ee6a47d86f30f13befe7197c1486da46713; retrieved 2026-09-21T03:05:36.804Z.