2004 Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crash
A Beechcraft Super King Air 200, similar to the one involved in the crash
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 24, 2004 |
| Summary | Pilot error resulting in Controlled flight into terrain, navigational issues and inclement weather ruled as contributing factors |
| Site | Stuart, Virginia, USA |
| Passengers | 8 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 10 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Beechcraft Super King Air 200 |
| Operator | Hendrick Motorsports |
| Registration | N501RH |
| Flight origin |
Concord Regional Airport Concord, North Carolina |
| Destination |
Blue Ridge Airport Martinsville, Virginia |
On October 24, 2004, a Beechcraft Super King Air aircraft, registered N501RH and owned by NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports, crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Blue Ridge Airport en route to the Subway 500 Nextel Cup Series race. All ten people on board were killed; among them, members of the Hendrick family including John Hendrick, president of Hendrick Motorsports, and former Busch Series driver and owner Ricky Hendrick.
The King Air took off from Concord, North Carolina, at 12 pm EST, carrying eight passengers and two flight crew. Among them were several key Hendrick Motorsports staff, including team president John Hendrick and his twin daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick; Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick; general manager Jeff Turner; and chief engine builder Randy Dorton. The other people on board were Joe Jackson, a DuPont executive; Scott Lathram, a pilot for driver Tony Stewart; and pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison. The plane was reported missing at 3:00 pm. Eventually 9-1-1 was called, and fire trucks and police cars patrolled the Virginia area during the race itself. Around midway through the race, searchers patrolling the nearby Bull Mountain's peak found airplane wreckage on the summit. When removing the wreckage from the summit they found the bodies of the Hendrick group at 11:05 pm. Everyone on board had been killed. A search by firefighters also discovered a scar on the mountain of moved dirt; the discovery proved that the airplane crashed on the side of the mountain and the explosion blew the wreckage and group upward.
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