Piper PA-23-250 accident near Excelsior Spgs, Missouri, March 22, 1988
On March 22, 1988 at about 8:25 am local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N62526, was destroyed in an accident near Excelsior Spgs, Missouri (Excelsior Springs airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- March 22, 1988 · about 8:25 am local time
- Place
- Excelsior Spgs, Missouri · Excelsior Springs · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N62526 · no longer on the register · serial 27-7654030
- 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
DURING ARRIVAL AT NIGHT, AFTER USING FUEL FROM THE INBOARD TANKS, THE PLT SWITCHED TO THE OUTBOARD FUEL TANKS. SHORTLY, THEREAFTER, BOTH ENGS LOST POWER. THE PLT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY & OBTAINED VECTORS TO THE NEAREST AIRPORT, BUT WAS UNABLE TO REACH IT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING AN EMERGENCY LANDING ABOUT 1/2 TO 1 MI FROM THE ARPT. NO USABLE FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE ACFT & THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SPILLAGE AT THE ACDNT SCENE.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,455 hours in all; 1,150 in this make and model; 217 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,810 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 14, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DPA Dupage IL at 6:10 am
- Destination: MKC Kansas City MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 2,005 ft by 48 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:47 am from MCI, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.