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BFO92FA088

1992-07-06 · BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BWG

Current FAA registration · N188AL

Make / Model
BEECH 200
Engine
P&W CANADA PT6A-60A (1050 hp)
Seats / Engines
11 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
19751224
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A15E6F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE LOSS OF CONTROL IN FLIGHT DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION/VERTIGO.

Factual narrative

SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE CRASHED ABOUT .8 MILES EAST FROM THE DEPARTED RUNWAY 21. THE PILOT REPORTED A CLOUD BASE OF 800 FEET AGL TO THE FAA FLIGHT SERVICE STATION 1 MINUTE AFTER TAKEOFF. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY HEARD THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE 'SCREAMING' AND THE AIRPLANE CAME OUT OF THE CLOUDS TOWARDS THE GROUND. WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY SAW THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE RISE JUST PRIOR TO IMPACTING THE TREES. THE ON SCENE INVESTIGATION DID NOT REVEAL ANY AIRPLANE ANOMALIES. AN ENGINE EXAMINATION WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND NO ANOMALIES WERE NOTED. THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND AUTO PILOT CONTROLS WERE DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES. THREE GYROS WERE RECOVERED FROM THE WRECKAGE AND EXAMINED. TWO OF THE THREE GYRO CASINGS EXHIBITED ROTATIONAL SCORING. THE PILOT HAD LOGGED ABOUT 354 HOURS TOTAL FLIGHT TIME. HE EARNED HIS INSTRUMENT RATING ON MAY 31, 1992. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_BFO92FA088.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control, spatial disorientation). All research papers