Cessna 402A accident near North Kansas Ci, Missouri, January 22, 1982
On January 22, 1982 at about 1:24 am local time, a Cessna 402A, registered N4553Q, was destroyed in an accident near North Kansas Ci, Missouri. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- January 22, 1982 · about 1:24 am local time
- Place
- North Kansas Ci, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402A · all 402As on the register
- Registration
- N4553Q · no longer on the register · serial 402-A-0053
- 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
THE PILOT RECEIVED 2 WEATHER BRIEFINGS. MOST OF THE FIRST BRIEFING WAS SPENT FINDING AN ALTERNATE. THE FORECAST INCLUDEDIMC WITH LOW CEILINGS, LOW VISIBILITIES WITH LIGHT SNOW, FOG, AND POSSIBLE FREEZING DRIZZLE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT CERTIFICATED FOR FLIGHT IN KNOWN ICING CONDITIONS. DURING ARRIVAL, THE PLANE ENTERED AN OVERCAST AT 3500 FT MSL. TWO MINUTES LATER, THE PILOT REPORTED AN ENCOUNTER WITH FREEZING PRECIPITATION. THE FIRST APPROACH WAS ABANDONED IN THE VICINITY OF THE FAF/OUTER MARKER AFTER THE PILOT FLEW THROUGH THE LOCALIZER COURSE LINE AND WAS ABOUT 1/2 MILE TO THE RIGHT. HE WAS VECTORED FOR ANOTHER ILS APPROACH. WHILE INBOUND ON THE APPROACH, HE WAS INFORMED THAT APPROACH CONTROL HAD RECEIVED A LOW ALTITUDE ALERT. HE WAS REMINDED THAT HIS ALTITUDE SHOULD BE 2600 FT UNTIL REACHING THE FAF; HOWEVER, HE REACHED ONLY 2400 FT. HIS AIRSPEED WAS MUCH HIGHER THAN NORMAL WHILE DESCENDING FROM THE FAF. THE PLANE STRUCK A BUILDING AND BURNED ABOUT 1/3 MILE NORTHEAST OF THE END OF RUNWAY 18.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,993 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,746 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 81 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Springdale Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Springdale AR
- Destination: Kansas City MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 070° at 6 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:30 am from MKC
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.