Des Moines - Chicago

On November 27, 1973 at 10:00 PM, Des Moines - Chicago experienced a crash involving Beechcraft E18, operated by SMB Stage Line, with the event recorded near Muscatine Iowa.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. While cruising by night on a cargo flight from Des Moines to Chicago, the pilot encountered engine problems and decided to divert to Muscatine for an emergency landing. Due to lack of visibility, he was unable to locate the runway and completed three low passes then started an approach to runway 12. On final, the airplane struck the ground and crashed about 1,245 feet short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Aircraft reference details include registration N262AA, MSN BA-370, year of manufacture 1958.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 41.4776°, -91.1210°.