Cessna 402 incident near Saint Louis, Missouri, December 6, 1994
On December 6, 1994 at about 4:08 am local time, a Cessna 402, registered N412RW, suffered minor damage in an incident near Saint Louis, Missouri (Lambert-St Louis Intl. airport). 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
improper maintenance installation (fuel line fitting)by other maintenance personnel. A factor was the cross threaded fuel line fitting.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 1994 · about 4:08 am local time
- Place
- Saint Louis, Missouri · Lambert-St Louis Intl. · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402 · all 402s on the register
- Registration
- N412RW · no longer on the register · serial 402-0127
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE TAXIING IN FROM A LANDING THE LEFT ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE FUEL LINE FROM THE FUEL PUMP TO THE FUEL CONTROLLER WAS CROSS THREADED AT THE FITTING AT THE FUEL CONTROLLER. TOTAL MATING OF THE FITTING SURFACES DID NOT OCCUR. MOST RECENT MAINTENANCE ON THE FUEL LINE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED FROM MAINTENANCE RECORDS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,400 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,900 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 16, 1994; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: IRK Kirksville MO at 9:10 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 4:08 am from STL
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.