Beechcraft King Air 90

The King Air 90 has flown since 1964, longer than any other business aircraft we rate, and has done almost every job a small twin can do. Up to 3 November 2026 we list 179 fatal events in its whole history, and the 44 from 2008 on count toward the score. Per flight, that record shares the lowest rank of the business aircraft we rate with the TBM, and it is below the larger King Air 200 among the classic business turboprops (first flown before 1980). With about 2.6 million flights since 2008 and 44 counted accidents, confidence is medium, and its own record carries most of the weight in the score.

What is the King Air 90?

It is a pressurised twin turboprop with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engines and about seven seats. Beechcraft built about 2,730, from the 65-90 and A90 to the C90GTx, and about 1,050 were seen flying in 2022. Only the F90 has a T-tail like the 200. The type is certified for one pilot.

Owners fly it themselves; companies, charter firms, air ambulance services, flight schools, skydiving clubs and survey operators use it too.

The record by flight purpose

Under our business rules, every civil flight from 2008 on counts:

Another 119 civil accidents happened before 2008 and do not count. The other 16 that do not count were nine military flights (four by US Navy T-44A trainers), six test flights and one illegal flight. Counted events took place in 13 countries; 18 were in the United States and 11 in Brazil.

The deadliest event was a skydiving flight: on 21 June 2019, an Oahu Parachute Center A90 stalled soon after take-off near Dillingham Airfield, Hawaii, and all 11 on board died. The NTSB found an accelerated stall after an aggressive take-off; an aft centre of gravity, an unrepaired twisted wing and weak FAA oversight of jump flights contributed.

Air ambulance work appears in more than ten records. On 15 December 2022, a Guardian Flight aircraft lost its main attitude display and autopilot at night off Maui and crashed near Kaupo, killing three; the NTSB cited the operator's pilot training. The two latest counted events were ambulance flights too, with no cause published yet: Redbird Airways in Jharkhand, India, on 23 February 2026 (seven dead) and Angels Envy Aviation near Lincoln, New Mexico, on 14 May 2026 (four dead).

With paying passengers, a PEC Taxi Aereo charter hit a power line near Caratinga, Brazil, on 5 November 2021; all five died, among them the singer Marília Mendonça. On 19 March 2015, a B90 on a contracted flight crashed after take-off from Laguna del Sauce, Uruguay, with 10 dead; it flew paid trips without an air transport certificate, so ASN lists it as private, but our data counts it as a passenger flight.

Is it the aircraft or how it is flown?

The official findings point mostly to how and where it flies. The same themes return over six decades: approaches in cloud, fog or darkness, ice, and loss of control after an engine failure on take-off, as at Toowoomba, Australia, on 27 November 2001, a crash from before 2008 that does not count.

Two records involve the airframe. On 10 July 2021, a C90 on a firefighting flight lost its outer left wing near Wikieup, Arizona; the NTSB found a fatigue crack in a spar that had been repaired instead of replaced, and an inspection had not found it. On 18 October 2022, an E90 on a positioning flight pitched down near Marietta, Ohio, and the NTSB found ice on the tailplane had stalled it.

How to check a charter operator

• Ask for the air operator certificate (AOC) and confirm it with the national aviation authority, as the Uruguay crash shows. Ask who maintains an aircraft that may be 40 or more years old.
• Ask whether two pilots will fly, and how recently the pilot has flown this type.
• Ask about the operator's rules for ice, night and poor weather.
• For a skydive, ask how the operator checks the load and balance before take-off.

How to tell if you are on one

Flight trackers show BE9L for most versions and BE9T for the F90. For a newer single in similar work, see the Pilatus PC-12.