Amateur-built BARRACUDA accident near Antonia, Missouri, May 26, 1997
On May 26, 1997 at about 5:30 pm local time, a amateur-built BARRACUDA, registered N5926, was destroyed in an accident near Antonia, Missouri. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
inadvertent flight by the pilot into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), spatial disorientation of the pilot, which led to his loss of aircraft control, and the pilot exceeding the design stress limits of the airplane, which led to an in-flight breakup of the airplane. Factors related to the accident were: the pilot not obtaining a weather briefing before flight, an encounter with adverse weather (low ceiling and fog), and the pilot's lack of instrument experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 26, 1997 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Antonia, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BARRACUDA
- Registration
- N5926 · no longer on the register · serial 287
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness 'heard a plane flying very low and the engine was cutting in and out.' He looked across the valley and saw 'a small aircraft flying below the ridge very erratic.' The witness said he saw the airplane go into a roll and descend at a 45-degree angle. 'Just as I lost sight (of the airplane), the engine seemed to rev up slightly, then stop. I could hear the plane hitting the tree tops and then a loud thud.' Another witness said that he saw the airplane 'enter the clouds and then re-appear at tree top level in a descending left turn.' The witness said that as the airplane disappeared from sight, the engine sound increased, then decreased, followed by the sound of the airplane crashing into the trees. The pilot was not instrument rated. The weather was reported as broken to overcast ceiling of 400 feet mean sea level (MSL), 2 miles visibility, and winds from 110 degrees at 7 knots. There was no report that the pilot received a weather briefing before flight. The outboard 8 feet of the left wing was located 405 feet east-northeast of the main wreckage, and the left flap was found about 435 feet east-southeast of the main wreckage. An exam of the left wing revealed evidence of an in-flight breakup. The left main spar was bent upward and splintered. The wood laminates covering the forward and aft surfaces of the spar section showed wood fibers pulled apart in an upward vector. No anomalies were found that would have occurred before the in-flight breakup.
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
- Flight time: 334 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 299 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 93 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 17, 1994
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Franklin 6A-350 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PLK Branson MO at 4:30 pm
- Destination: H49 Columbia IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from STL, 32 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.