Cessna R182 accident near Owensboro, Kentucky, April 21, 1987
On April 21, 1987 at about 11:40 pm local time, a Cessna R182, registered N5496T, was destroyed in an accident near Owensboro, Kentucky (Davies CO. airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 21, 1987 · about 11:40 pm local time
- Place
- Owensboro, Kentucky · Davies CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna R182 · all R182s on the register
- Registration
- N5496T · registry record · serial R18201880
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLT IN CRUISE FLT AT 5500 FT ABOUT 30 MIN AFTER DEP FM PADUCAH WHEN HE NOTED A SMALL AMOUNT OF BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM TOP OF PANEL. THE REAR SEAT PAX NOTED FLAMES IN THE PANEL AT THE SAME TIME. THE PLT NOTED HIS POSITION IN RELATION TO OWENSBORO AND INITIATED AN EMER DESCENT TOWARD THE ARPT. HE STATED THAT WITHIN 30 SEC OF INITIAL SMOKE SIGHTING THE CABIN WAS FILLED WITH DENSE BLACK SMOKE AND HE OPENED THE WINDOWS TO SEE AND BREATHE. BY THE TIME HE REACHED THE ARPT AND LANDED, HE STATED THAT THE FLAMES WAS MELTING THE WINDSHIELD AND HEADLINER. AFTER HE HAD SLOWED OR STOPPED THE ACFT, HE EVACUATED HIS PASSENGERS AND HIMSELF. THE FIRE CONTINUED TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ACFT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,270 hours in all; 55 in this make and model; 212 in the last 90 days; 2,174 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,200 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 26, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-J3C5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PAH Paducah KY at 11:01 pm
- Destination: LOU Louisville KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 6,499 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:40 pm from OWB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.