Beech B-90 accident near Paducah, Kentucky, January 8, 1989
On January 8, 1989 at about 1:35 am local time, a Beech B-90, registered N784K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Paducah, Kentucky (Barkley Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE WHILE MANEUVERING TO LAND. PROBABLE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE INOPERATIVE WEATHER RADAR, THUNDERSTORMS, LIGHTNING, AN UNDETERMINED ELECTRICAL PROBLEM, DARK NIGHT, THE PILOT'S IMPROPERLY PLANNED APPROACH AND VISUAL PERCEPTION, AND THE TREES.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 8, 1989 · about 1:35 am local time
- Place
- Paducah, Kentucky · Barkley Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech B-90 · all B-90s on the register
- Registration
- N784K · no longer on the register · serial LJ-427
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG A RTRN FLT AT NGT TO DECATUR, AL, THE PLT NOTED HIS WX RADAR WAS INOP. HE VISUALLY AVOIDED THUNDERSTORMS (TSTMS), WHICH HAD BEEN FORECASTED. WHILE AVOIDING TSTMS, HE NOTED A REDUCTION IN ENG POWER, A SLIGHT YAW, INDCNS OF FUEL FLOW IRREGULARITY & THAT THE LEFT & RGT BOOST PUMPS WERE INOP. THESE OCCURRED AT ABOUT THE TIME, HE SAW A WHITE ARC WHICH HE SAID HAD JUMPED FROM THE PROP, SPINNER OR NACELLE AREA TO THE ACFT'S NOSE. DUE TO THE WX, HE ELECTED TO DIVERT TO PADUCAH. AFTER THE ARPT WAS IN SIGHT, HE NEEDED TO LOSE ALT BEFORE LANDING & WAS CLEARED TO MAKE A 360 DEG TURN. WHILE TURNING, HE LOST SIGHT OF THE ARPT, THEN ROLLED OUT ON THE WRONG HEADING & STARTED FLYING TOWARD A STROBE LIGHT AT AN INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. WHEN HE REALIZED HIS ERROR & SAW THE ARPT, HE TURNED TOWARD THE RWY; BUT AS HE WAS MANEUVERING, THE ACFT LOST ALT, HIT TREES & CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE ENGS & FUEL PUMPS REVEALED NO INDCN OF A PREIMPACT FAILURE. NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF A LIGHTNING STRIKE WAS FOUND, BUT THE NOSE & ENGS WERE BADLY DAMAGED FROM IMPACT.
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: 1,061 hours in all; 115 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 1,009 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,293 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 2, 1987; 114 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,650 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDA Shenandoah IA at 10:30 pm
- Destination: DCU Decatur AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 220° at 22 knots, gusting 29
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; scat at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.