Beech E18S accident near Oak Creek, Wisconsin, January 25, 1990
On January 25, 1990 at about 11:42 am local time, a Beech E18S, registered N48K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Oak Creek, Wisconsin. 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, ACCUMULATION OF STRUCTURAL AND/OR INDUCTION ICE, AND DARK NIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 25, 1990 · about 11:42 am local time
- Place
- Oak Creek, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech E18S · all E18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N48K · no longer on the register · serial BA-202
- 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
THE PILOT STATED THAT, WHILE EN ROUTE TO HIS DESTINATION ON A NIGHT CARGO FLIGHT, HE EXPERIENCED DIFFICULTY WITH THE RIGHT ENGINE WHICH HE ATTRIBUTED TO CARBURETOR ICING. WITH APPLICATION OF MANIFOLD HEAT, THE PROBLEM CLEARED UP; A SHORT WHILE LATER, THE RIGHT ENGINE LOST POWER COMPELTELY. ATTEMPTS AT RESTART WERE UNSUCCESSFUL; THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND DIVERTED TO AN ALTERNATE AIRPORT. WEATHER CONDITIONS IN THE AREA WERE BAD, WITH A WINTER STORM IN PROGRESS; MOST LOCAL AIRPORTS WERE CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER. THE PILOT WAS CLEARED FOR THE ILS RWY 1 APPROACH. HE REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT HAD ICED UP WHILE EN ROUTE, AND THAT WHILE ON THE ILS APCH, IT 'PICKED UP MORE' (ICE) AT ABOUT 300 TO 400 FT AGL. HE WAS UNABLE TO REACH THE RWY. SUBSEQUENTLY, HE MADE AN EMERG LANDING APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. A POST-ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF A PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE.
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: 2,600 hours in all; 230 in this make and model; 273 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days; 2,410 as pilot in command; 900 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,147 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 13, 1989; 38 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: YIP Ypsilanti MI at 10:00 am
- Destination: JVL Janesville WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1, 9,690 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 11:51 am from MKE, 1 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.
Other NTSB records under N48K the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.