Cessna 402B incident near St. Louis, Missouri, January 10, 1983
On January 10, 1983 at about 6:05 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N8200Q, suffered minor damage in an incident near St. Louis, Missouri (Lambert-St. Louis airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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 10, 1983 · about 6:05 pm local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · Lambert-St. Louis · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8200Q · no longer on the register · serial 402BO381
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE RIGHT ENGINE OF THE ACFT STARTED TO BURN WHILE THE ACFT WAS BEING STARTED. THE PILOT NOTICED FLAMES COMING OUT OF THE TOP OF THE RIGHT ENGINE AFTER THE LEFT ENGINE WAS STARTED. THE PILOT INITIATED SHUT DOWN OF BOTH ENGINES AND EVACUATION OF THE PASSENGERS. THE FIRE CONTINUED TO BURN AND WAS EXTINGUISHED BY THE FIRE DEPT. EXAMINATION SHOWED A FUEL LINE RUPTURED AND METAL PARTICLES BLOCKING THE SHUT-OFF VALVE SO THAT FUEL CONTINUED TO FLOW.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,557 hours in all; 2,992 in this make and model; 109 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days; 8,127 as pilot in command; 3,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,902 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 7, 1983; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E8 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Trans-Mo Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Destination: JEF Jefferson City MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:47 pm from STL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N8200Q 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.