Beechcraft 100 N402G

Summary

On 5 April 1997 at about 15:30 local time, a Beechcraft 100 registered N402G was involved in an incident near Kenly, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 April 1997 at 15:30

Classification

Incident

Location

Kenly, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.5899, -78.1204

Aircraft

Beechcraft 100

Registration

N402G

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kinston → Greensboro

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA97IA151

Nobody was injured.

Inadequate inspection procedures by the airframe manufacturer for failure to require removal of the metal retaining ring to inspect the entire area of the window for cracks.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 15 minutes after departure while climbing through 12,000 to 12,500 feet, at a cabin differential pressure of 4.3 psi, the pilot's flight compartment side 'D' window separated with a resulting rapid decompression. The pilot diverted to the destination airport and landed uneventfully. Post incident examination of the failed window revealed evidence of preexisting cracks that originated at the external surface of the window at the transition radius between the window flange and the center portion of the window. The failed window had accumulated 4,008 hours since replacement at failure and was the latest design. Review of the inspection requirements for the window which is scheduled to occur every 600 hours revealed that the metal retaining ring is not required to be removed for inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.