Piper PA-31P accident near Sunset Hills, Missouri, February 26, 1985
On February 26, 1985 at about 1:35 am local time, a Piper PA-31P, registered N404RS, was destroyed in an accident near Sunset Hills, Missouri (Weiss airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 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
- February 26, 1985 · about 1:35 am local time
- Place
- Sunset Hills, Missouri · Weiss · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31P · all PA-31Ps on the register
- Registration
- N404RS · no longer on the register · serial 18
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ON A NGT INSTRUCTIONAL FLT WITH 2 MULTI-ENG INSTRUCTOR PLTS AT THE CONTROLS & A RATED PLT OCCUPYING A REAR PAX SEAT. THE RGT FNT SEAT OCCUPANT WAS AN EXPERIENCED MULTI-ENG PLT WITH 110 HRS IN THIS MAKE & MODEL; HOWEVER, HIS 2NDCLASS MED CERT WAS ISSUED IN JAN 1983. THE L FNT SEAT OCCUPANT HAD JUST RECEIVED HIS MULTI-ENG INTRUCTOR RATING & HAD ONLY 3 HRS IN THIS MAKE & MODEL. HE HAD A CURRENT MED CERT & WAS PRESUMED TO BE THE PLT-IN-COMMAND. THE AIRCREW MADE 2 PASSES OVER RWY 18, THEN MANUEVERED ONTO A DOWNWIND LEG OF THE PATTERN. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE ACFT WAS NORTHEAST OF THE ARPT AT APRX 300 TO 400 FT AGL & MANEUVERING BACK TOWARD THE RWY WHEN IT ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT, CRASHED & BURNED.THE ACFT CRASHED NORTHEAST OF THE ARPT IN A WOODED AREA. IMPACT OCCURRED ON A SOUTHERLY HDG IN ABOUT AN 18 DEG DIVE. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND; HOWEVER, THE ACFT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED DURING IMPACT. TOX CHECKS OF THE PAX & RGT FNT SEAT OCCUPANTS SHOWED EACH HAD AN ALCOHOL LVL OF 0.117%. NO ALCOHOL FND IN THE L FNT SEAT OCCUPANT'S BLOOD
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,420 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 162 in the last 90 days; 1,396 as pilot in command; 845 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 493 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 10, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 7,800 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIGO-541-E1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 3WE Fenton MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:48 am from SUS, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.