Augusta - Bluefield - Frederick

On January 21, 1981 at 08:44 AM, Augusta - Bluefield - Frederick experienced a crash involving Cessna 500 Citation, operated by Georgia Pacific Corporation, with the event recorded near Bluefield-Mercer County West Virginia.

The flight was categorized as executive/corporate/business and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

5 people were known to be on board, 5 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 3, passenger fatalities: 3, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The airplane overran the end of runway 23, following an instrument landing system (ILS) approach, crashed, and burned at the Mercer County Airport, Bluefield, West Virginia. The aircraft touched down between 500 and 2,000 feet on the runway which was covered with wet snow, and it did not decelerate normally. About 1,200 feet from the departure end of the runway, the pilot added engine thrust and rotated the aircraft for liftoff; however, it did not get airborne because of insufficient flying speed. The aircraft overran the end of the runway and struck three localizer antennas and a 10-foot embankment before it plunged down a steep, densely wooded hillside. The five occupants were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire.

Aircraft reference details include registration N501GP, MSN 500-0026, year of manufacture 1972.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 37.2698°, -81.2223°.