Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 N300CW

Summary

On 14 February 1990 at about 13:53 local time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 registered N300CW was involved in an accident near Putnam, Texas, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 February 1990 at 13:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Putnam, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.3597, -99.1909

Aircraft

Mitsubishi MU-2B-60

Registration

N300CW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midland → Dallas

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW90FA072

5 people died.

IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN EXCESSIVE ACCUMMULATION OF STRUCTURAL ICING (ON THE AIRCRAFT'S WINGS, STABILIZERS, FUSELAGE, AND/OR ENGINE INLETS), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED AND AIRCRAFT CONTROL. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE WEATHER EVALUATION DUE TO LACK OF AVAILABLE INFORMATION AT THE AUTOMATED FLIGHT SERVICE STATION (AFSS), HIS FAILURE TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM OTHER WEATHER STATIONS (EITHER BEFORE TAKEOFF OR DURING THE FLIGHT), HIS LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF AIRCRAFT, AND ICING CONDITIONS AT CRUISE ALTITUDE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

BFR TKOF, SAN ANGELO AFSS BRIEFER TOLD THE PLT COMPUTERS WERE DWN IN SOUTH TX FOR 1.5 HRS & NO CURRENT WX INFO WAS AVBL.CURRENT WX INFO WAS AVBL AT NWS AT MIDLAND & FSS'S AT MIDLAND, MCALESTER & DE RIDDER, BUT THE PLT DIDN'T CALL THESE, NORDID THE BRIEFER ADZ HIM TO DO SO. PLT DIDN'T UPDATE WX IN FLT. ABT 38 MIN AFTER TKOF, IN AREA OF POTENTIAL ICING, ACFT SLOWED FM 270 TO 150 KTS GS IN 4 MIN, THEN SLOWED TO 100 KTS IN NEXT 12 SEC. ABT 33 SEC BFR RCHG 100 KTS, PLT RQD DSCNT FM 15,000' TO 13,000'. AT THAT TIME, TRUE GND TRACK WAS APRX 080 DEG WITH WND ALOFT ABT 213 DEG AT 43 KTS. BFR ATC COULDCLR DSCNT, ACFT DSCNDD TO 14,800, THEN RADAR CTC WAS LOST AFTER 1 RTRN AT 9700'. DSCNT RATE BTN LAST 2 ALTS: 12,750 FPM.NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION WAS FND. IMC EXISTED ABV 12,500'. FRZG LVL WAS FCST AT 10,000' TO 12,000'. ACFT WAS CERT FOR FLT IN KNOWN ICING CONDS, BUT STATUS OF ANTI-ICE/DE-ICE EQUIP WASN'T DTRMD DUE TO IMPACT/FIRE DMG. LOW LVLS OF ETHANOL WERE FND IN TOX SAMPLES FM ALL OCCUPANTS; HOWEVER, THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE TOX SAMPLES WERE UNRELIABLE.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.