British Aerospace Jetstream 32 accident near Kirksville, Missouri, October 20, 2004
On October 20, 2004, a British Aerospace Jetstream 32, registered N875JX, was destroyed in an accident near Kirksville, Missouri (Kirksville Regional airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 13 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilots' failure to follow established procedures and properly conduct a nonprecision instrument approach at night in IMC, including their descent below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) before required visual cues were available (which continued unmoderated until the airplane struck the trees) and their failure to adhere to the established division of duties between the flying and nonflying (monitoring) pilot. Contributing to the accident was the pilots' failure to make standard callouts and the current Federal Aviation Regulations that allow pilots to descend below the MDA into a region in which safe obstacle clearance is not assured based upon seeing only the airport approach lights. The pilots' unprofessional behavior during the flight and their fatigue likely contributed to their degraded performance. .
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2004
- Place
- Kirksville, Missouri · Kirksville Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 13 people were killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- British Aerospace Jetstream 32
- Registration
- N875JX · no longer on the register · serial 875
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-06/01. On October 19, 2004, about 1937 central daylight time, Corporate Airlines (doing business as American Connection) flight 5966, a BAE Systems BAE-J3201, N875JX, struck trees on final approach and crashed short of runway 36 at Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK), Kirksville, Missouri. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 as a scheduled passenger flight from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, in St. Louis, Missouri, to IRK. The captain, first officer, and 11 of the 13 passengers were fatally injured, and 2 passengers received serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact and a postimpact fire. Night instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,234 hours in all; 2,510 in this make and model; 191 in the last 90 days; 72 in the last 30 days; 3,277 as pilot in command; 1,102 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,856 hours in all; 107 in this make and model; 107 in the last 90 days; 72 in the last 30 days; 2,698 as pilot in command; 2,422 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 12, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21,977.6 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 18, 2004; 9.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,204 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Garrett-Airesearch TPE331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Garrett-Airesearch TPE331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Corporate Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: KSTL St. Louis MO at 11:42 pm
- Destination: KIRK Kirksville MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 6,005 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; ovct at 300 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 10:35 pm from KIRK, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 11 | 2 |
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.