NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MKC90FA082
Registry · N6KG
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BEECH D-45
Engine
CONT MOTOR O-470 SERIES (230 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19940912
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A7C375
Registrant of record
SELECT AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
INADVERTENT FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, WHICH RESULTED IN LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE WEATHER EVALUATION, DARKNESS, LOW CEILING, AND FOG.
Factual narrative
THE INSTRUMENT-RATED PLT DEPARTED SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI AT NIGHT ON A VFR FLT TO MT VERNON, MISSOURI. AFTER TAKING OFF FROM RWY 20, A RIGHT TURN WAS MADE FOR A CLIMB TO 3000 FT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, TOWER PERSONNEL LOST RADAR CONTACT WITH THE ACFT & NOTIFIED THE FAA RGNL OPN CENTER. THE ACFT CRASHED ABOUT 7 MI SW OF THE ARPT. A WITNESS RPRTD SEEING AN ACFT DSCND OUT OF LOW CLOUDS IN THE AREA, BUT DID NOT SEE THE ACTUAL CRASH. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE ACFT CRASHED ON AN EASTERLY HEADING, WHILE AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A LEFT WING DOWN, NOSE LOW ATTITIDE. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND. ALSO, NO RECORD OF A PREFLIGHT WX BRIEFING WAS FND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_MKC90FA082.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.
Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (spatial disorientation, imc). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Design, Implementation, and Testing of Spatial Disorientation Scenarios in a Modified Hexapod Motion Simulator
Abstract Investigations into aviation accidents aim to identify root causes and enhance safety. Despite advancements in safety measures, technology, and education, general aviation accident rates rema…
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2022 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Spatial Disorientation
Safety advisor on the perceptual illusions that cause spatial disorientation: the leans, graveyard spiral, somatogravic and somatogyral illusions, false horizon, and Coriolis.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Evaluation of Low Cost, User-Centered Alerting Devices for the Mitigation of Flight Crew Spatial Disorientation
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting research into technologies which have the potential to reduce flight crew Spatial Disorientation (SD).
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Presentation
Pre-Flight Training of Autonomic Responses for Mitigating the Effects of Spatial Disorientation During Spaceflight
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has identified a potential risk of spatial disorientation, motion sickness, and degraded performance to astronauts during re-entry and landing …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other
The Role of Spatial Disorientation in Fatal General Aviation Accidents
In-flight Spatial Disorientation (SD) in pilots is a serious threat to aviation safety. Indeed, SD may play a much larger role in aviation accidents than the approximate 6-8% reported by the National …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) Mitigates the Effects of Spatial Disorientation to Simulated Orion Spacecraft Re-Entry: Individual Differences
NASA has identified a potential risk of spatial disorientation to future astronauts during re-entry of the proposed Orion spacecraft.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗