Beech D18S accident near Miami, Florida, September 25, 1987
On September 25, 1987 at about 5:55 pm local time, a Beech D18S, registered N76Q, was destroyed in an accident near Miami, Florida (Miami International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 25, 1987 · about 5:55 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech D18S · all D18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N76Q · registry record · serial AF-39
- 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
WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT TAXI TO THE END OF RUNWAY 27R AND POSITIONED SO THE TAIL WAS OUT IN THE OVERRUN AREA. WITNESSES FURTHER STATED THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO TAKE AN OVERLY LONG TAKEOFF ROLL BEFORE LIFTING OFF. AFTER LIFT OFF, THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED UP VERTICALLY, CLIMBED TO ABOUT 100 FEET, ROLLED LEFT INVERTED, CRASHED TO THE GROUND IN A DIVE ON A HEADING OF 035 DEGREES AND BURST INTO FLAMES. THE AIRCRAFT WAS 955 POUNDS OVER MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT AND THE CG WAS 14.5 INCHES AFT OF THE MOST REARWARD LIMIT. THE WEIGHT AND BALANCE FORM HAD BEEN ALTERED TO INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT WAS WITHIN LIMITS FOR WEIGHT AND BALANCE PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. EXAMINATION OF FAA RECORDS REVEALED AIR CARGO AMERICA HAD BEEN CITED FOR NUMEROUS BREACHES OF FEDERAL AIR REGULATIONS AND THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND HAD A HISTORY OF SUSPENSIONS/REVOCATIONSOF HIS PILOT AIRMAN IN CERTIFICATE. A PILOT OF AIR CARGO AMERICA REPORTED THE COMPANY PRESSURED THEIR PILOTS TO OPERATE THE AIRCRAFT OUTSIDE THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL AIR REGULATIONS. FAA WAS NOTIFIED OF THESE PRACTICES IN 1985.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,250 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 220 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command; 1,560 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,000 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 25, 1987; 34 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Air Cargo America, INC.
The flight
- Destination: FMY Ft. Myers FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27R, 10,500 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:05 pm from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N76Q 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.