Beech 58 accident near Dewitt, Arkansas, January 9, 1988
On January 9, 1988, a Beech 58, registered N4613S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dewitt, Arkansas (Dewitt Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 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 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 9, 1988
- Place
- Dewitt, Arkansas · Dewitt Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N4613S · no longer on the register · serial TH682
- Damage
- Substantial 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 PILOT OF N4613S WAS MAKING A VFR APPROACH INTO THE DE WITT, ARKANSAS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. SNOW HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE RUNWAY AND PILED UP ON THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 35. THE NOSE GEAR OF THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE PILED UP SNOW/ICE AT TOUCHDOWN, DAMAGING THE NOSE GEAR. WHEN THE NOSE GEAR TOUCHED DOWN ON THE RWY THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE RUNWAY INTO AN AREA OF SNOW IN WHICH THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,654 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 8,430 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,451 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1987; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Central Flying Service INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LIT Little Rock AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,200 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 030° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 18°F (-8°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.