Beech H18 accident near Kansas City, Missouri, April 1, 1988
On April 1, 1988 at about 1:50 pm local time, a Beech H18, registered N989B, was destroyed in an accident near Kansas City, Missouri (Kansas City Downtown airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was 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
- April 1, 1988 · about 1:50 pm local time
- Place
- Kansas City, Missouri · Kansas City Downtown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech H18 · all H18s on the register
- Registration
- N989B · registry record · serial BA-632
- 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 CARGO FLT DPTD CINCINNATI ENRT TO WICHITA, KS WITH AN INTERMEDIATE STOP AT KANSAS CITY DTWN ARPT. THE FLT PROGRESSED NRMLY TO A VOR RWY 03 INSTRUMENT APCH, CIRCLING TO RWY 01. THE PIC HAD BEEN CLRD TO COMMENCE THE APCH. TWR PERS SUBSEQUENTLY ADVISED THE PIC OF A LOW ALTITUDE ALERT, TO WHICH THE PIC RESPONDED HE HAD GROUND CONTACT. THE PIC SUBSEQUENTLY DECLARED A MISSED APCH, THEN SAID, 'I GOT IT ALL RIGHT,' AND HE REQUESTED A 360 DEG TURN AND LDG ON RWY 01. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE ACFT APCH FM THE WEST AT A LOW ALTITUDE. THEN, WHILE OVER ARPT PROPERTY, THE ACFT TURNED SHARPLY. THE LEFT WING DROPPED QUICKLY AS THE ACFT BANKED NEARLY 90 DEGREES. THE ACFT IMPACTED THE RAMP AREA 400 FT RIGHT OF RWY 01, IN FRONT OF A FIXED BASE OPERATOR AND BURST INTO FLAMES. THE ACFT SLID ABOUT 200 FT BEFORE COMING TOA STOP. THE COMPANY CHIEF PLT STATED THAT THE PIC WAS DEFICIENT IN VOR APPROACHES.
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: 2,140 hours in all; 274 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 1,877 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,443 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 1, 1988; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Ace Air Cargo, INC
The flight
- Departed from: CIN Cincinnati OH at 11:09 am
- Destination: MKC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1, 7,001 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:58 pm from MKC
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.