The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute (ASI) has released a new video providing an early look at a July 2026 crash in rural Illinois.
The accident aircraft was N202DK, a 1978 Beechcraft Baron 55. The pilot, Jimmy Don Lewis, and his adult son, Brayden Ty Lewis, died in the crash. They were flying home to Arkansas after attending a major league baseball game in St. Louis. Both were private pilots but neither had an instrument rating.
The pair departed St. Louis Regional Airport (KALN) in Illinois at about 10:30 p.m., bound for Siloam Springs-Smith Field (KSLG) in Arkansas, about 270 nautical miles to the southwest. At 10:48 p.m., the aircraft crashed just south of St. Louis Lambert International Airport’s Class Bravo airspace.
“The aircraft appears to have flown into some severe weather,” ASI Senior Vice President Mike Ginter said. “There were numerous thunderstorms, convective SIGMETs, and forecasts for storms near the crash location and in many of the surrounding states. It’s still unclear why they flew into that storm and whether they were aware of the conditions.”
“The aircraft went into a spiral descent from 5,600 feet until what appears to be a recovery, and then into a constant descent until the flight track abruptly turns northwest and ends with the last data point at 2,200 feet,” he added.
The pair could have been relying on a datalink weather display inside their aircraft, unaware that information is usually delayed and not displayed in real time, he noted.
“In its investigation, we believe the NTSB will be asking questions that could include, for example, the pilot’s qualifications and proficiency, the aircraft’s capabilities and equipment, and the weather that night,” Ginter said.
Every one of these tragic accidents holds lessons for other pilots, he added. As a rule, both the FAA and ASI recommend pilots steer well clear of thunderstorm cells — at least 20 nautical miles laterally — and never try to squeeze between them. On-board datalink weather, such as ADS-B, should never be used to assume real-time conditions. Datalink latency — the time between what shows on the cockpit display and the actual weather — is typically three to five minutes, and sometimes up to 20 minutes.
“Storms like these are unforgiving, and no amount of instrument flying experience, certificates, or ratings will save a pilot from the significant hazards of flying near or into one, especially at night,” Ginter said.
NTSB investigations typically take 18 months to two years to be complete.
You can view the video here. You can view other Early Analysis videos here.
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