Beech E18S accident near Vienna, Missouri, March 4, 1988
On March 4, 1988 at about 4:05 am local time, a Beech E18S, registered N45A, was destroyed in an accident near Vienna, Missouri. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 4, 1988 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Vienna, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech E18S · all E18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N45A · no longer on the register · serial BA-101
- 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 PLT RCVD A WX BRIEFING BFR STARTING A NGT CARGO OPN IN KNOWN ICING CONDS. BFR THE FLT, A LINE SERVICEMAN NOTICED ICE ON THE ACFT'S WINGS & SUGGESTED ITS REMOVAL, BUT THE PLT DECLINED. APRX 45 MIN AFTER TKOF, THE PLT RPRTD TO ARTCC THAT A DE-ICE BOOT HAD 'BLOWN' & HE WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY CTLG THE ACFT. HE SAID THE BOOT WAS 'GOING BACK AND FORTH' & THAT FULL RGT AILERON WAS REQUIRED TO KEEP THE WINGS LEVEL. ALSO, HE RPRTD A CONTINUOUS LOSS OF ALT & SAID THAT FULL RGTAILERON WOULD NOT KEEP THE ACFT FM TURNING TO THE LEFT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED ON DESCENDING TERRAIN WHILE IN A SLIGHTLY NOSE DOWN, LEFT WING LOW ATTITUDE. MUCH OF THE ACFT (INCLUDING MUCH OF THE LEFT WING) WAS DEMOLISHED BY IMPACT & FIRE. PROP SLASH MARKS INDCD THE ENGS WERE PROVIDING PWR. MAINT RECORDS HAD NO INFO OF REPLACEMENT, REPAIR OR MODIFICATION OF THE DE-ICE BOOTS IN THE PREV 10 YRS. THE PLT'S WIFE INDCD HE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN PRESSURED TO FLY ACFT WITH DISCREPANCIES. SIGMETS GOLF 3 & 4 WARNED OF OCNL SEVERE MIXED ICING IN CLOUDS & PRECIP.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 360 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,971 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 29, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 9,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN14-B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SGF Springfield MO at 3:06 am
- Destination: Vienna MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.