Beech D18S accident near St. Louis, Missouri, June 18, 1988
On June 18, 1988 at about 5:50 pm local time, a Beech D18S, registered N4234A, was substantially damaged in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri (Weiss 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
- June 18, 1988 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · Weiss
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech D18S · all D18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N4234A · no longer on the register · serial A-366
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ARRIVING AT HIS DESTINATION AIRPORT AFTER A NIGHT 14 CFR 135 AIR TAXI CARGO FLIGHT, THE MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED DURING ROLL-OUT CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED A BROKEN LANDING GEAR DRAG LINK, WHICH CAUSED THE MAIN GEAR COLLAPSE. THE ACFT WAS A VOLPAR TRI-GEAR CONVERSION OF THE BEECH 18 USING GARRETT TURBOPROP ENGINES AND WITH AN INCREASED MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,755 hours in all; 450 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,333 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 2, 1988; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CLT Charlotte NC at 2:50 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36, 3,030 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 am from SUS, 15 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.