Beech B36 accident near Webb City, Missouri, March 20, 1984
On March 20, 1984 at about 1:14 am local time, a Beech B36, registered N6665X, was destroyed in an accident near Webb City, Missouri (Joplin Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- March 20, 1984 · about 1:14 am local time
- Place
- Webb City, Missouri · Joplin Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech B36 · all B36s on the register
- Registration
- N6665X · no longer on the register · serial EA-354
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS ADVISED BY SPRINGFIELD TOWER THAT ICING CONDITIONS EXISTED ALONG HIS PROPOSED ROUTE OF FLT. HOWEVER, HE ELECTED TO TAKEOFF, & ABOUT 4 MIN LATER, THE PLT ADVISED THAT HE HAD ENCOUNTERED RIME ICE. HE CONTINUED THE FLT TO JOPLIN, PICKING UP MORE ICE ALONG THE ROUTE. AT JOPLIN, THE PLT MADE AN ILS APCH TO RWY 13 WITH PLANS TO CIRCLE & LAND ON RWY 31. WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT PASS OVER THE FIELD, HEADING SOUTHEAST, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF RWY 13. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE ACFT CRASHED WHILE THE PLT WAS MAKING A CIRCLING APCH. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A LEFT WING LOW, NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. ANOTHER PLT WHO LANDED A FEW MIN BEFORE THE ACCIDENT REPORTED THAT HIS WINDSHIELD WAS 3/4 OBSCURED WITH MIXED ICE & THE WINGS OF HIS ACFT HAD ACCUMULATED 1/4 INCH OF CLEAR ICE ON THE LEADING EDGES. HE SAID THE ICE ACCUMULATED IN 6 TO 10 MIN IN THE PRECIP AREA.
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: 600 hours in all; 520 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 230 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 22, 1984; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,850 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-UB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SGF Springfield MO
- Destination: JLN Joplin MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 6,503 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 310° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:25 am from JLN, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.