Sunday, December 25, 2022

Beechcraft 77 Skipper, N991AB: Accident occurred December 15, 2022 near Lihue Airport (PHLI), Hawaii

National Transportation Safety Board - Accident Number ANC23LA009

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Honolulu, Hawaii 

Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances after departure.  


Date: 15-DEC-22
Time: 22:08:00Z
Regis#: N991AB
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 77
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: SERIOUS
Flight Crew: 1 Serious Injuries 
Pax: 1 Serious Injuries 
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: TAKEOFF (TOF)
Operation: 91
City: LIHUE
State: HAWAII






LIHUE - A father and son were in serious but stable condition Thursday following a single-engine plane crash near Kauai’s Lihue Airport.

Authorities said the Beechcraft 77 Skipper crashed about 12:10 p.m.

Multiple agencies responded, including Kauai police and firefighters.

Upon arrival, officials said the two already crawled out from the wreckage.

Witnesses said the plane came down shortly after takeoff. The two people onboard were treated on scene transported to Wilcox Medical Center.

A state Transportation Department spokesperson said the crash was not impacting other flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration was alerted and is investigating along with NTSB.

3 comments:

  1. Don't see many of those...I think they only built the Skipper for two or three years...low production. I hope the guys are recovering OK.

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    1. ^^Yep. I had them in my flight school alongside the 150/152 as a two seater trainer option before moving up to the PA-28 or 172 four seaters. A lot of budget crunched students couldn't afford the extra $8/hr it cost to rent the four seaters (late 1980s dollars).

      I was fortunate and could afford the 172 up front, but that Skipper's fish bowl canopy was not very popular in the Florida summer sun compared to the overhead wingers. I was also not a fan of the T-tail hearing from a friend's father who had a T-tail Arrow and didn't like the way it flew at low airspeed.

      The Skipper had years of production with ~300 hulls built. It was not a successful selling trainer for Beechcraft and interestingly, the Piper PA-38 Tomahawk, a near identical design configuration of the time, sold nearly 2,500 between 1977-1982 when built.

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    2. ^Three years of Skipper production....

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