On October 24, 2004, a

Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

aircraft, registered and owned by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

team

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...

, crashed into mountainous terrain in

Stuart, Virginia Stuart is a town in Patrick County, Virginia, where it is the county seat. The population was 1,408 at the 2010 census. The town of Stuart was named after Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, of nearby Ararat, Virginia. History Incorporation (1753� ...

, during a missed approach to

Blue Ridge Airport Blue Ridge Regional Airport is nine miles southwest of Martinsville, in Henry County, Virginia. It is owned by the Blue Ridge Airport Authority. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorized it as a ''gener ...

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although ...

. The aircraft was transporting eight passengers and two flight crew to Martinsville so they could attend the NASCAR event at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in s ...

that afternoon. All ten people on board were killed; among them, members of the Hendrick family including John Hendrick, president of Hendrick Motorsports, his twin daughters,

Ricky Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Ricky" Hendrick IV (April 2, 1980 – October 24, 2004) was an American stock car racing driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports, a NASCAR team that his father Rick Hendrick founded. He was born in Charlotte, North Ca ...

, former

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

driver and heir to the Hendrick empire. Hendrick Motorsports staff involved includes Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, General Manager Jeff Turner, and chief engine builder

Randy Dorton Randall Alexander Dorton (May 1, 1954 – October 24, 2004) was the Director of Engine Operations and lead engine builder for Hendrick Motorsports. With Dorton, the team won nine NASCAR championships. On October 24, 2004, Dorton was killed in a ...

. The pilots were Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison. Other passengers include Joe Jackson, an executive at

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

and Scott Lathram, Tony Stewart's pilot.

Crash

The King Air took off from

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

, at 12 pm EST, carrying eight passengers and two flight crew. Among them were several key

staff, including team president John Hendrick and his twin daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick;

, son of Rick Hendrick; general manager Jeff Turner; and chief engine builder

. The other people on board were Joe Jackson, a

executive; Scott Lathram, a pilot for driver

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

; and pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison, who was scheduled to come to her brother's (Rick Morrison) birthday party that night after the race. The plane was reported missing at 3:00 pm. Eventually

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

was called, and fire trucks and police cars patrolled the Virginia area during the race itself. Around midway through the race, a

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

search team patrolling the nearby Bull Mountain's peak found airplane wreckage on the summit. When removing the wreckage from the summit, response teams 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.

received word of the plane crash halfway through the race at Martinsville.

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

, a Hendrick driver, won the race. Due to the circumstances, the usual victory lane celebration did not take place. Upon the conclusion of the race, NASCAR called all Hendrick personnel to its mobile operations trailer where details of the accident were disclosed to the team.Hendrick plane crashes en route to NASCAR race; 10 killed

Investigation

An investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) followed soon after the crash.

Weather

There were foggy conditions at the time of the plane crash.

Pilot error as a cause

The NTSB suggested that pilot error was the cause of the crash, partly by: * the plane missing its first landing attempt before veering off course and crashing; * the plane not climbing to its temporarily assigned altitude of ; it instead descended to before crashing.NTSB: Hendrick plane did not climb before crash
, ''Associated Press''. Accessed August 11, 2006. The NTSB concluded its investigation by suggesting that the pilots failed to execute an

instrument approach In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...

procedure and that both failed to use all navigational aids to confirm the airplane's position during its approach.

Aftermath

Impact on Hendrick Motorsports

On February 18, 2005, Marshall Carlson,

Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949), nicknamed "Mr. H", is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Au ...

's son-in-law, signed on as new general manager.

Memorials

The week following the crash, officials at the

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

held a moment of silence before both the Busch and

Nextel Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

races and lowered the flags to half staff. All the Hendrick Motorsports cars, as well as the No. 0 driven by

Ward Burton John Edward Burton III (born October 25, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has five career wins in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500. He is the older brothe ...

of Hendrick-affiliated

Haas CNC Racing Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...

, carried tributes on the hoods for those who were lost the week before. Jimmie Johnson (who won the

Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. William Byron is the defending race winner. This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late- ...

race) and the rest of his teammates and crew wore their caps backwards in victory lane as a tribute to Ricky Hendrick, who had a habit of doing the same. Teams who win in Hendrick Motorsports cars continue the tradition to honor Ricky after every race win. At the Hendrick museum in

, 300 people showed up for a candlelight vigil in honor of the ten victims.Felix, Ro
Tragedy At Hendrick Motorsports
(insiderracingnews.com). Accessed August 11, 2006. The Randy Dorton Trophy now goes to the winner of the Mahle Engine Builders Challenge.

References

External links

Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crash 2004 in NASCAR 2004 in Virginia Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2004 Aviation accidents and incidents in Virginia Accidents and incidents involving the Beechcraft Super King Air Aviation accidents and incidents involving professional sports teams Disasters in Virginia History of NASCAR Martinsville, Virginia Patrick County, Virginia October 2004 events in the United States