Cessna 208B accident near Decatur, Illinois, September 29, 2004
On September 29, 2004 at about 10:20 am local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N276PM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Decatur, Illinois (Decatur airport). It was flown 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 pilot's inadequate preflight preparation, and his subsequent selection of a runway for takeoff that was listed as out of service, resulting in a collision with barricades and uneven terrain during takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 2004 · about 10:20 am local time
- Place
- Decatur, Illinois · Decatur
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N276PM · no longer on the register · serial 208B0074
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was being operated as an on-demand commercial cargo flight when it impacted runway barricades and a rut during takeoff from a closed runway. The pilot attempted to perform a night takeoff on a runway which had its lights disabled and was barricaded. When the pilot saw the barricades, he attempted to go around them. The runway was listed as closed in the Notices to Airman, and recorded as such on the airport's automated surface observing system.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,430 hours in all; 34 in this make and model; 1,380 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,507 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 1, 2004; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,785 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DEC Decatur IL
- Destination: UIN Quincy IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 5,299 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 010° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 5:54 am from DEC
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.