Cessna 402B accident near Missing Acft, Mississippi, March 31, 1984
On March 31, 1984, a Cessna 402B, registered N44NC, was destroyed in an accident near Missing Acft, Mississippi. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 6 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
- March 31, 1984
- Place
- Missing Acft, Mississippi
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N44NC · registry record · serial 402B0852
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THIS ACFT DISAPPEARED ON A FLT FROM FT LAUDERDALE, FL TO BIMINI, BAHAMAS. AFTER DEPARTURE, THE ACFT FLT PLAN WAS ACTIVATED BY RADIO. THIS WAS THE LAST COMMUNICATION WITH THE ACFT. AN ITAP RADAR READOUT REVEALED AN ACFT FLT THAT DEPARTED AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. THIS TARGET HEADED FOR BIMINI, & AFTER ABOUT 10 MIN, SLOWED TO 90 KTS AIRSPEED. ABOUT 4 MINUTES LATER THE TARGET ENTERED A 5400 FPM RATE OF DESCENT AND DISAPPEARED OFF RADAR. TWO WITNESSES SAW AN ACFT CRASH INTO THE WATER NEAR BIMINI BETWEEN 0830 AND 0900 ON 3/31. THE MISSING ACFT DEPARTED FT LANDERDALE AT 0823 ON 3/31/84. THE INJURY INDEX & ACFT DAMAGE ARE PRESUMED.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,500 hours in all; 1,510 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 4,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,387 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 19, 1984; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
- Operator: Associated Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: FLL Fort Lauderdale FL at 1:23 pm
- Destination: MYBS Bimini
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| 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.