Piper PA-28-180 accident near Chesterfield, Missouri, March 23, 1994
On March 23, 1994 at about 6:30 am local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N3365R, was destroyed in an accident near Chesterfield, Missouri (Spirit Of St. Louis airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
suicide by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 1994 · about 6:30 am local time
- Place
- Chesterfield, Missouri · Spirit Of St. Louis · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N3365R · no longer on the register · serial 28-5666
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE TAXIING AT A HIGH SPEED TOWARD THE RUNWAY, AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER SAW THE AIRPLANE DIVING VERTICALLY AT FULL POWER TOWARD THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT WAS A LOCAL TV METEOROLOGIST AND WEATHERCASTER. ACCORDING TO COWORKERS, HE HAD BEEN DEPRESSED OVER RECENT MEDIA ACCOUNTS OF HIS ALLEGED EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR AND HARASSMENT OF A LOCAL WOMAN WHO HAD RECENTLY OBTAINED A COURT ORDER OF PROTECTION AGAINST HIM. COWORKERS ALSO SAID THAT THE PILOT HAD TOLD THEM HE HAD ATTEMPTED SUICIDE TWICE IN THE LAST FEW DAYS. ONE OF THOSE ATTEMPTS WAS REPORTEDLY WHILE HE WAS FLYING HIS AIRPLANE. INVESTIGATION OF THE WRECKAGE DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MECHANICAL ANOMALY. POSTMORTEM EXAMINATION OF THE PILOT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF INCAPACITATION.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 320 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 223 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,510 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 19, 1993; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A3A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26L, 7,005 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:26 am from SUS
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.