Federal investigators say a Beechcraft King Air ran out of fuel and crashed onto the roof of a hangar at New Century AirCenter in Johnson County, leaving two people with minor injuries. In a final factual report released July 15, 2026, the National Transportation Safety Board pinned the wreck on inadequate fuel planning during an instructional flight.
What the NTSB found
A report from the NTSB lays out the chain of events. An instructor and a pilot receiving instruction were on a short cross-country training flight when, while flying the traffic pattern at New Century, the airplane slowed and the left engine quit from fuel starvation. The instructor took the controls and tried to manage single-engine performance and climb on the remaining operating engine, but the airplane hit the roof of a Butler Avionics hangar and came to rest on top of the building.
Fuel levels and probable cause
The NTSB report states, "The flight instructor’s inadequate fuel planning that resulted in a loss of engine power to the left engine due to fuel exhaustion." After the crash, investigators drained the tanks and found about 3 fluid ounces of fuel in the left wing tank and about 30 fluid ounces in the right. The agency said that amount was not enough to support a single-engine go-around. The NTSB concluded that the instructor’s fuel planning and in-flight monitoring were the primary contributors to the accident.
Local reporting and reaction
Initial on-scene coverage of the June 16, 2025, crash described an apparent left-engine problem in the pattern and reported that both occupants were taken to Overland Park Regional Health Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to KCTV. Local outlets also noted that people working in the Butler Avionics hangar evacuated the building when the aircraft came through the roof, and airport leaders publicly praised emergency crews for quickly evacuating nearby personnel and securing the scene. The Kansas City Star reported early details shortly after the crash.
What it means
The NTSB’s finding that poor fuel planning, rather than an in-flight mechanical failure, triggered the accident is a pointed reminder to flight instructors and students to verify usable fuel before departure and to maintain proper single-engine speeds during go-arounds. New Century AirCenter and Johnson County officials cooperated with investigators, and the final report is meant to reinforce safety practices so that a similar fuel miscalculation does not put another airplane on a hangar roof.
