What happened
On March 22, 2026, a Beechcraft B200GT (Super King Air), registration N886DS, was destroyed following an accident near Sharp, Louisiana. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use.
The aircraft departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida, traveling toward Dallas Executive Airport in Texas. At approximately 14:12 CDT, the pilot confirmed a flight routing via the DODJE 6 arrival procedure. Shortly after passing the Alexandria VORTAC, the pilot requested permission from Houston Center to leave the frequency for approximately sixty seconds. No further radio transmissions were received from the pilot.
Data from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) indicates that at 14:17:42, an autopilot disconnect alert occurred. Two seconds later, the aircraft entered a right turn with an increasing bank angle. The aircraft then began a rapid descent from 28,000 feet.
As the descent continued, several alerts were recorded:
- An excessive bank angle alert activated at approximately 55 degrees.
- An altitude alert triggered as the aircraft descended through 27,800 feet.
- A landing gear warning horn sounded while the aircraft was descending through 27,000 feet.
- An overspeed alert activated as the aircraft exceeded its maximum operating speed.
By 14:18:08, the aircraft was descending at a vertical speed of -28,000 feet per minute. ADS-B tracking ended at 18,200 feet, though subsequent flight tracking data showed the aircraft continued to descend at speeds between -32,000 and -45,000 feet per minute. The aircraft impacted a swamp near the southwestern shore of Lake Rodemacher at 14:18:51. The pilot was fatally injured.
The investigation
Recovery efforts involved using a swamp excavator to search the 15-foot-deep impact crater. The wreckage was found to be severely fragmented, including portions of the nose, cabin, wings, landing gear, and empennage. While fragments of the aileron, elevator, and rudder were recovered, no portion of the cockpit, flight controls, or instrument panel could be identified. The engines were not located during excavation down to a depth of 30 feet, though propeller blade bases and composite propeller shards were found in the debris field. A strong odor of Jet-A fuel was present at the site.