Beech 58 accident near Newcastle, Oklahoma, December 6, 1998
On December 6, 1998 at about 3:34 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N1826S, was destroyed in an accident near Newcastle, Oklahoma (Norman/Univ. Of Oklahoma airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's loss of control due to his inadvertent encounter with severe turbulence and wind shear during an instrument approach. Factors contributing to the accident were the severe turbulence and the wind shear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 1998 · about 3:34 pm local time
- Place
- Newcastle, Oklahoma · Norman/Univ. Of Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N1826S · no longer on the register · serial TH-1280
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 4,550-hour pilot received two weather briefings and filed an IFR flight plan for the 152-nautical mile flight. The briefers informed the pilot of Convective SIGMETs, AIRMETS, and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect along the route of flight. Approximately 19 minutes before the accident, a Boeing 737 executed a missed approach after encountering severe turbulence and wind shear during an approach to an airport 12 miles northwest of the accident airplane's destination. The pilot was informed of this encounter by air traffic control. As the flight neared its destination, the pilot was cleared for a localizer approach to runway 03. The airplane was observed on radar about one mile north of the final approach course. The pilot reported that he was not going to be able to continue the approach. When questioned by the tower about his intentions, the pilot replied, 'I am going to stay right here until I get out of some of this.' The wreckage of the twin-engine airplane was located a mile north of the final approach course, about 6 miles southwest of the landing threshold for the runway. Physical evidence and ground signatures at the initial point of impact indicated that the airplane, configured with the landing gear and flaps in the retracted position, impacted the ground on a measured magnetic heading of 342 degrees at a high speed in a nose low attitude in a slight left turn. Examination of weather data revealed that the last radar return from the airplane occurred in the vicinity of a frontal boundary, where strong wind shear and severe turbulence were present.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,550 hours in all; 2,337 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,337 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 2, 1998; 79 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,424 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-CB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: F62 Idabel OK at 2:52 pm
- Destination: OUN Norman OK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 3, 4,747 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 13 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:25 pm from OUN, 6 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.