Beech 58P accident near Austin, Texas, September 12, 1987
On September 12, 1987 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Beech 58P, registered N1158T, was destroyed in an accident near Austin, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 1987 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Austin, Texas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Beech 58P · all 58Ps on the register
- Registration
- N1158T · no longer on the register · serial TJ-8
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT RCVD A FULL WX BRIEFING AT 0540 CDT & A WX UPDATE AT 0737 WHEN HE FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN. THE FLT WAS WITHOUT INCIDENT WITH A FINAL CRUISE ALT OF 16,000' UNTIL 1055:43, WHEN THE PLT REQD A 'LEFT TURN FOR DEVIATION.' ABOUT 3 MIN LATER, THE CTLR NOTICED AN ALT ALERT WHEN THE ACFT DEVIATED BLO THE ASSIGNED ALT. THE CTLR TRIED TO CONTACT THE PLT, BUTLOST RADIO & RADAR CONTACT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT COME OUT OF CLDS IN A STEEP RGT WING LOW, NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. IT CRASHED WITH A HI RATE OF SPD & DISINTEGRATED DRG IMPACT; PARTS OF THE WRECKAGE WENT INTO A NRBY LAKE.NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND. AN INV REVEALED THERE WAS A LINE OF TSTMS MVG THRU THE AREA AT 35 KTS WITH TOPS TO 34,000'. THE PLT RCVD A DETAILED BRIEFING OF TSTMS AT 0540, BUT THE UPDATE BRIEFING AT 0737 DIDN'T INCLUDE PERTINENT INFO IN SEVERE TSTM WATCH #516 (ISSUED AT 0611) OR CONVECTIVE SIGMET 18C. PLT DIDN'T ASK FOR UPDATE OF WX HE WAS APCHG, BUT THE ACFT WAS RADAR EQUIPPED. THE 1102 AUSTIN WX WAS IN PART: TSTMS, WIND 010 DEG AT 18 GUSTING 32 KTS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,100 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,036 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 4, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 6,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AAP Houston TX at 3:15 pm
- Destination: GUC Gunnison CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 18 knots, gusting 32
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:02 pm from AUS, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.