Bell 206L-1 accident near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, December 22, 1988
On December 22, 1988 at about 10:35 am local time, a Bell 206L-1 (helicopter), registered N119CG, was destroyed in an accident near Cape Girardeau, Missouri (Cape Girardeau airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- December 22, 1988 · about 10:35 am local time
- Place
- Cape Girardeau, Missouri · Cape Girardeau · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-1 · all 206L-1s on the register
- Registration
- N119CG · registry record · serial 45313
- 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 HELICOPTER WAS DISPATCHED AT NIGHT ON AN EMERG MED SVC (EMS) FLT FM A HOSPITAL AT CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. PURPOSE OF THEFLT WAS TO TRANSPORT A PATIENT FM A HOSPITAL AT MARION, IL, TO CAPE GIRARDEAU. WX AT CAPE GIRARDEAU DETERIORATED AFTER THE ACFT DEPARTED. DRG VFR FLT BACK TO CAPE GIRARDEAU, THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO LND AT THE DESTN HOSPITAL. THE FLT NURSE COMMENTED THEY WOULD HAVE TO 'GET DOWN' AS THE PATIENT WAS GETTING WORSE. THE PLT ELECTED TO TRACK TO THE CAPE GIRARDEAUARPT BY USING THE ILS COURSE TO SEE IF THE ARPT LIGHTING WOULD HELP HIM TO 'LET DOWN.' HE STATED THAT WHILE TRACKING INBND & HOLDING 'ABOUT 300 FEET,' HE NOTICED THE HELICOPTER WAS LEFT OF COURSE. BEFORE THE ACDNT OCCURRED, HE HAD STARTED TO CORRECT BACK TO COURSE, BUT COULDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING BYD THAT POINT. ALSO, HE RPRTD HE HAD LEFT THE STROBE LIGHT ON & EXPERIENCED FLICKER VERTIGO. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER STRUCK A POWER LINE & CRASHED ON LVL TERRAIN IN AN OPEN FIELD. THE FLT NURSE, THERAPIST & PATIENT WERE FATALLY INJURED IN THE ACDNT.
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: single-engine land; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,890 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 52 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 3,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,225 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 16, 1988; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C28B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Marion IL at 9:56 am
- Runway 10, 6,499 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:38 am from CGI, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 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.