Cessna 414 accident near Fayetteville, Arkansas, January 1, 1988
On January 1, 1988 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna 414, registered N30ML, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fayetteville, Arkansas (Fayetteville airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 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 1, 1988 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fayetteville, Arkansas · Fayetteville · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 414 · all 414s on the register
- Registration
- N30ML · no longer on the register · serial 414 0005
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLT, THE CFI AND STUDENT PLT HEARD A LOUD POP WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LOWER THE GEAR IN PREPARATION FOR LANDING. SEVERAL FLYBYS PAST THE CONTROL TOWER WERE MADE TO CONFIRM AN UNSAFE NOSE GEAR CONFIGURATION. THEY FLEW THE AIRCRAFT AN ADDITIONAL HOUR AND A HALF TO LIGHTEN THE FUEL LOAD, ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE GEAR WITH EMERGENCY PROCEDURES, THEN ATTEMPTED AN EMERGENCY LANDING. THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AND CONSEQUENTLY, THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED A FLAT NOSE GEAR STRUT, AND MECHANICAL PROBLEMS IN THE NOSE GEAR STRUT ASSEMBLY.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,751 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 147 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 1,625 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,198 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 23, 1987; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,350 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ROG Rogers AR at 6:15 pm
- Destination: FYV Fayetteville AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 6,006 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from FYV
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N30ML the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.