What happened
On the afternoon of December 18, 1995, a Beech B200, registration N231RL, was taken from the West Houston Airport following a break-in. The aircraft, operated by Western Airways Inc., was reported stolen by the operator's chief mechanic shortly after the incident occurred at 1600 hours. No flight plan was submitted for the unauthorized flight.
U.S. Customs officials utilized an intercept aircraft to track the stolen plane. The interception took place at the T.P. McCampbell Airport near Ingleside, Texas, as the Beech B200 was in its landing phase. To prevent the aircraft from departing, the Customs plane landed on the 4,996-foot runway, effectively blocking the path.
In an attempt to escape law enforcement, the pilot attempted a takeoff. During this maneuver, the aircraft struck a fence, traversed a ditch, and eventually settled in a nearby swamp. The two occupants of the aircraft fled the scene on foot; while the pilot's son was detained, the pilot remained at large. There were zero fatalities and zero injuries reported among the occupants.
Inside the wreckage, authorities discovered various items including bolt cutters, masks, and loaded weapons. Maps and charts recovered from the cockpit suggested the intended destination for the flight was the area near Cartagena, Colombia.
Findings
Investigation of the wreckage revealed significant structural damage, including a punctured pressure bulkhead, a damaged left wing, and a collapsed nose landing gear. The primary cause of the accident was the pilot's attempt to evade law enforcement by taking off from a blocked runway.