Beech 95 C55 accident near Casey, Illinois, February 27, 2016
On February 27, 2016 at about 4:30 pm local time, a 1966 Beech 95 C55, registered N88FL, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Casey, Illinois (Casey Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent landing on a taxiway after a reported loss of engine power in both engines, which resulted in an overrun of the paved surface. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined because a postaccident test run of the engines did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 27, 2016 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Casey, Illinois · Casey Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 95 C55 UNDESIGNAT, built 1966 · all 95 C55s on the register
- Registration
- N88FL · no longer on the register · serial TE-269
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight in a multiengine airplane; he entered the pattern on the crosswind leg and set the mixture and power for landing and extended the flaps. He reported that the right engine "sputtered" while the airplane was abeam the runway threshold. The pilot immediately checked the power levers, pushed the mixture controls to full. As he turned onto the base leg of the traffic pattern, the right engine lost power. He further reported that, during the turn to the final leg of the traffic pattern, the left engine also sputtered, and then experienced a total loss of power. The pilot extended the flaps to the final setting, lowered the landing gear, and pushed the airplane's nose over to "make the runway." The pilot said that he "flared then bounced, floated and bounced again." The airplane ran off the paved surface, flew over a ditch and touched down in a plowed field where all three landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane touched down on the 1,400-foot-long parallel taxiway, rather than the runway, and continued off the taxiway, where it came to rest. During recovery of the airplane from the accident site, 25 gallons of fuel was drained from each of the main fuel tanks. The airplane's engines were run on a test stand at the manufacturer's facility. Both engines exhibited normal operation through all power settings. No other system anomalies were found with the airplane. It is likely the pilot, distracted by the reported loss of power on both engines, mistook the parallel taxiway for the runway. On touching down, he quickly ran out of hard surface and pulled the airplane back into the air. He subsequently touched down beyond the perimeter road about taxiway into soft ground, collapsing the landing gear and resulting in the damage to the airplane's forward fuselage and right wing.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (partial) during approach (VFR pattern base)
- Runway excursion during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Attention › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- factor Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,978 hours in all; 327 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,850 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 11, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,681.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 27, 2016
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Continental IO-520-CB (piston); 126 hours total
- Engine 2: Continental IO-520-CB (piston); 126 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BHM Birmingham AL at 1:20 pm
- Destination: 1H8 Casey IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 04, 4,001 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from MTO, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
8 documents, released by the NTSB on June 29, 2016. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum of Conversation, Ms. Stephanie Williams, FAA Pmi | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Salvage Operator E-mail | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Photo Array | PDF, 14 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Left Engine Run Report | PDF, 15 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Right Engine Run Report | PDF, 15 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Continental Motors Release Form | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.