A typical Beecraft King Air plane
By Anthony Maliki
Some few minutes to 12noon local time on Sunday February 21, 2021, a Nigerian Air Force plane Beecraft King Air 350i crashed near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja killing all seven on board.
According to aviation authorities, the plane developed engine failure three minutes into the flight upon take off to Minna, Niger State, but was unable to return to the runway. It crashed with the runway in view.
The crash was the latest in mishaps of such planes in Beecraft’s history, one killing the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski on February 26, 2004 among others.
Apex News Exclusive provides a timeline of crashes involving Beecraft’s Super King Air models with each estimated to cost about $4.49million.
Cockpit of a Beecraft King Air plane
Timeline of crashes
February 21, 1980: A Model 200 operating as Advance Airlines Flight 4210 crashed adjacent to the runway at Sydney Airport, killing 13 people in the worst civil aviation accident in Australia since 1968.
May 24, 1981: A Super King Air 200 of the Ecuadorian Air Force flew into a mountain with the loss of all 9 on board including Jaime Roldós Aguilera, the President of Ecuador.
February 17, 1993: A Turkish Air Force Super King Air B200 transporting Eşref Bitlis (the General Commander of the Turkish Gendarmerie) crashed minutes after taking off from the Güvercinlik Army Air Base in Ankara killing all five onboard and one on the ground.
September 4, 2000: After departing Perth, Western Australia, the pilot of a Model 200 Super King Air failed to respond to ATC after the aircraft climbed above its assigned altitude. It continued to fly across Australia for five hours before crashing near Burketown in northwestern Queensland, killing all eight on board. Dubbed the “Ghost Flight” by the media, an investigation concluded that the occupants likely became incapacitated due to hypoxia.
January 27, 2001: A Super King Air 200 carrying members of the Oklahoma State University Basketball Team crashed in Colorado.
February 26, 2004: President of the Republic of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski was killed with eight others in the crash near Mostar. The plane was a Beechcraft Model 200 Super King Air (registered Z3-BAB) operated as a transport aircraft of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia.
October 24, 2004: A Model 200 Super King Air crashed into mountainous terrain during a missed approach in Virginia. Several members of the Hendrick Motorsports team were on board and died in the crash.
April 12, 2009: A privately chartered Super King Air 200 made an emergency landing by one of its passengers en route to Fort Myers, Florida after the pilot suffered a heart attack, dying instantly mid flight. The passenger, Doug White, had a licence to fly in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, but had not flown in nearly 18 years at the time and never in any aircraft similar to the King Air. The landing was later described as being perfect with no injuries and the only death being that of the pilot.
October 30, 2014: A B200 King Air crashed at Wichita, Kansas; the pilot and three people on the ground were killed, six people were injured.
December 22, 2015: A B200 King Air crashed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India. All ten occupants were killed; one person on the ground was injured.
February 21, 2017: A B200 King Air struck the roof of a shopping center building and crashed just after taking off from Essendon Airport in Melbourne, Australia. All five on board were killed.
July 30, 2009: A Pakistan Army King Air 350i crashed in Punjab, Pakistan killing all five aboard.
September 1, 2019: A B300 King Air crashed into a resort in Calamba, Philippines. All nine occupants aboard were killed; two people on the ground were injured.
July 15, 2020: A B350 crashed on Mount Artos, Turkey in Turkey, killing all seven on board.
Beecraft aircraft family
Beechcraft currently offers the 250 (design. B200GT and the larger 350i (B300 models. The 350ER (B300CER) is available to government, military and commercial customers for special mission operations such as aerial survey, air ambulance, flight inspection and surveillance. The Beechcraft 1900 regional airliner was derived from the Model B200 King Air.
The Super King Air family has been in continuous production since 1974 the longest production run of any civilian turboprop aircraft in its class. It outlasted all of its previous competitors; the only other pressurized multi engine turboprop utility aircraft now in production is the Piaggio P.180 Avanti. (Additional information: Wikipedia)
