Beech C-45H accident near Mooringsport, Louisiana, April 6, 1993
On April 6, 1993 at about 6:50 am local time, a Beech C-45H, registered N492DM, was destroyed in an accident near Mooringsport, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A TOTAL LOSS OF RIGHT ENGINE POWER, AND A PARTIAL LOSS OF LEFT ENGINE POWER, FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 6, 1993 · about 6:50 am local time
- Place
- Mooringsport, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech C-45H · all C-45Hs on the register
- Registration
- N492DM · registry record · serial 52-10874
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
RADAR DATA SHOWED THE AIRPLANE TRACKING NORTH OF THE PLANNED ROUTE. IT MADE SEVERAL HEADING CHANGES, AND DESCENDED TO 500 FT MSL. THE PILOT ADVISED ATC THAT HE WAS LANDING AT SHREVEPORT, AND WAS ASSIGNED A TRANSPONDER CODE. NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS WERE RECEIVED BY ATC. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TRANSMISSION LINES, POLES, AND TREES APPROX 19 MI NW OF THE AIRPORT. EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLERS REVEALED THAT THE RIGHT SPINNER DOME MARKS EQUATED TO 74 DEG; THE OPERATING RANGE IS 17-35 DEG. THE 3 BLADES OF THE LEFT PROPELLER SHOWED ONLY LEADING EDGE DAMAGE AT THE TIPS. EXAMINATION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: CARBON BUILDUP IN THE EXHAUST AND INTAKE MANIFOLDS, EXHAUST VALVES PITTED AND SCORED, VALVE SEATS WORN AND PITTED, SPARK PLUGS WORN, COMPRESSION BELOW 60 ON 4 CYLINDERS, AND A SEPARATED MAGNETO BLOCK WITH PITTING AND FRETTING. TIME SINCE LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION BY OPERATOR MAINTENANCE PERSSONNEL WAS 78 HRS. THE LEFT ENGINE AND ACCESSORIES WERE EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED BY FIRE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,870 hours in all; 4,020 in this make and model; 142 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 9,470 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,268 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 14, 1993; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Eagle Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PBF Pine Bluff AR at 5:50 am
- Destination: LRD Laredo TX
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 am from SHV, 19 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.
Other NTSB records under N492DM the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.