Beech 18S accident near Morganton, North Carolina, February 24, 1988
On February 24, 1988 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Beech 18S, registered N1480K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Morganton, North Carolina (Morganton-Lenoir airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- February 24, 1988 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Morganton, North Carolina · Morganton-Lenoir · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 18S
- Registration
- N1480K · registry record · serial BA 601
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PIC ABORTED FIRST TAKEOFF ATTEMPT DUE TO CROSSWIND INDUCED DIRECTIONAL CONTROL DIFFICULTIES. DURING SECOND TAKEOFF ATTEMPT, GUSTY CROSSWIND LIFTED LEFT WING & ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE. PIC FORCED ACFT BACK ONTO RWY, LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AND VEERED OFF RWY FIRST TO LEFT SIDE THEN ACROSS RWY TO RIGHT SIDE. ACFT WAS LOADED AT AFT CG LIMIT. CROSSWIND WAS 50-70 DEGREES OFF OF DIRECT HEADWIND WITH THE RPTED GUSTS EXCEEDING CROSSWIND LIMITS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,353 hours in all; 393 in this make and model; 208 in the last 90 days; 2,362 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,922 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Saber Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MRN at 4:30 pm
- Destination: FWA Ft Wayne IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 3, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 13 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from HKY, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.