Beech D55 accident near N. Little Rock, Arkansas, October 1, 1988
On October 1, 1988 at about 1:35 am local time, a Beech D55, registered N7826R, was destroyed in an accident near N. Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 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
- October 1, 1988 · about 1:35 am local time
- Place
- N. Little Rock, Arkansas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Beech D55 · all D55s on the register
- Registration
- N7826R · no longer on the register · serial TE-669
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT HAD BEEN EXECUTING A VOR/DME RWY 35 INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO NORTH LITTLE ROCK MUNI (1M1). THE PIC CALLED 'MISSED APPROACH' A SHORT TIME AFT HAVING BEEN CLRD TO EXECUTE THE INSTRUMENT APPRCH. APPRCH CONTROL ATTMPTD TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE PIC AFTER HEARING THE CALL, BUT NO REPLY WAS RCVD BY THEM. APPRCH CONTROL MADE OTHER ATTMPTS, WHICH WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. SEVERAL WITNESSES STATED THAT THE ACFT WAS HEARD & OBSVRD FLYING AT A VERY LOW LEVEL, AT A FAST SPD IN A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION. THE NML MISSED APPRCH PROCEDURE RQRS THE PIC TO IMMEDIATELY CLMB AND COMPLT THE PUBSHD PROCEDURE. WX RPTD FOR THE APPRCH WAS BELOW THE (MDA) FOR THIS APPRCH. IFR WX HAD PRVLD IN THE AREA MOST OF THE DAY, WITH INTERMITTENT MODERATE TO LT RAIN. THE ACFT IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN IN A WINGS LVL ATTITUDE, 2.8 MI NORTHWEST OF THE APPRCH END OF RWY 35.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,715 hours in all; 134 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days; 1,648 as pilot in command; 916 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,843 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 4, 1988
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Argenta Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: FYV Fayetteville AR
- Destination: NLR N. Little Rock AR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:52 am from LIT, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.