Beech E-18S accident near Lone Rock, Wisconsin, May 4, 1993
On May 4, 1993 at about 6:40 am local time, a Beech E-18S, registered N80CB, was destroyed in an accident near Lone Rock, Wisconsin (Tri-County Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
was a pre-mature extension of the landing gear by the pilot which resulted in the inability of the pilot to maintain the minimum descent altitude. Factors related to the accident were the loose cylinder and loss of oil.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 4, 1993 · about 6:40 am local time
- Place
- Lone Rock, Wisconsin · Tri-County Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech E-18S · all E-18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N80CB · registry record · serial BA257
- Damage
- Destroyed
- 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 OF A TWIN-ENGINE CARGO AIRPLANE SHUT DOWN THE LEFT ENGINE AND FEATHERED THE PROPELLER DUE TO A LOSS OF ENGINE OIL. THE FAA ARTCC HANDLING THE FLIGHT VECTORED THE AIRPLANE TOWARD A VOR. DUE TO THE AIRPLANE'S ALTITUDE AND DISTANCE FROM THE CENTER'S RADAR, THE PILOT OF THE AIRPLANE HAD TO PERFORM A FULL INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE. THE AIRPLANE MAINTAINED ITS ENROUTE ASSIGNED ALTITUDE UNTIL PASSING THE VOR OUTBOUND. NTAP READOUTS SHOW THE AIRPLANE DESCENDING THROUGHOUT THE PROCEDURE TURN AND INBOUND LEG OF THE APPROACH. THE AIRPLANE'S LAST RADAR CONTACT WAS 300 FEET BELOW THE INBOUND ALTITUDE FOR THE APPROACH WHILE OUTSIDE THE FINAL APPROACH FIX. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AND TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 2 1/4 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. THE VOR IS 5.5 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. THE ON-SCENE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LEFT ENGINE'S PROPELLER HAD BEEN FEATHERED, ITS NUMBER NINE CYLINDER MOUNTING STUDS ON THE ENGINE'S CASE WERE CRUSHED DOWNWARD OR WERE BROKEN OFF AT THE CASE'S SURFACE, AND THE LANDING GEAR HAD BEEN EXTENDED.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,492 hours in all; 310 in this make and model; 318 in the last 90 days; 112 in the last 30 days; 4,352 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,027 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 2, 1993; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Viking Express, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ARR Aurora IL at 5:35 am
- Destination: MSP Minneapolis MN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 900 ft; not recorded at 900 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 am from MSN, 38 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.