Mcdonnell Douglas F/A-18C accident near Bethalto, Illinois, June 19, 1996
On June 19, 1996 at about 7:48 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas F/A-18C, registered N16518, was destroyed in an accident near Bethalto, Illinois (St Louis Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
the pilot's failure to follow the preflight crew briefing and attain a proper altitude during an aerobatic maneuver. Factors in the accident were: the pilot's previous experience of flying similar airshow routines in a different airplane with substantially different performance characteristics, and the company's failure to have a formal training plan for pilots performing airshow demonstration flights.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 19, 1996 · about 7:48 pm local time
- Place
- Bethalto, Illinois · St Louis Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas F/A-18C
- Registration
- N16518 · registry record · serial 165189
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) pilot was flying a leased Navy F/A-18C and conducting an airshow practice at St. Louis Regional Airport when the airplane impacted the ground at the bottom of a reverse one-half Cuban eight aerobatic maneuver. The briefed altitude at the top of the maneuver was to be 3,500 feet above ground level (agl), which gave the pilot a base line of 1,000 feet agl. Recorded data showed that the actual altitude at the top of the maneuver was 2,280 feet agl. Using a group of F/A-18 pilots in a F/A-18 simulator, the lowest altitude at the top of the reverse one-half Cuban eight required to successfully complete the maneuver was 2,500 feet agl. The pilot had been trained as a Naval Aviator, and was a graduate of the Navy's test pilot school. He joined MDA Flight Operations 3/4/96. The pilot had accrued 16 hours in the F/A-18 in the last year, of which 11 hours were in the last 90 days. MDA did not have a formal training plan for their pilots who perform airshow demonstration flights. The pilot had flown 5 civilian airshows within the last year; the most recent was 11 days prior to the accident. All the airshows were flown in a Pitts Special.
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, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 6,218 hours in all; 2,255 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 6,218 as pilot in command; 1,463 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 19, 1996; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 51,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge F404-GE-402 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ALN at 7:47 pm
- Destination: ALN
- Runway 29, 8,101 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from ALN, 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.
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.