Cessna 421C N421LL

Summary

On 14 June 1999 at about 16:57 local time, a Cessna 421C registered N421LL was involved in an accident near Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 June 1999 at 16:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Concord Regional (JQF)

Coordinates

35.3198, -80.7408

Aircraft

Cessna 421C

Registration

N421LL

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Anderson

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA99FA180

4 people died.

The failure of the pilot to shutdown the right engine and feather the propeller after a reported loss of power in the engine shortly after takeoff resulting in the airplane descending, colliding with trees and then the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

An aircraft mechanic stated one of the airplanes engines was making an unusual noise during takeoff. An Air Traffic Controller stated the flight used about 4,500 feet of runway before lifting off. About 1 minute after being cleared for takeoff, the pilot reported 'were coming around were losing a right engine'. The controller and a witness observed the airplane level off, sway to the left and right, and then descend. The pilot reported he was not going to make it. The airplane was lost from sight behind trees. Post crash examination of the airplane structure, flight controls, engines, and propellers showed no evidence of pre-crash failure or malfunction that would have prevented operation. The landing gear and wing flaps were found retracted. The left and right propellers were found in the low blade angle position and had similar damage. An NTSB sound study of ATC communications showed that at the time the pilot reported they were not going to make it, a propeller signature showed 1,297 rpm and another propeller signature of 2,160 rpm. The engine inoperative procedure contained in the Pilot Operating Handbook for the Cessna 421C, calls for the throttle on the inoperative engine to be closed, the mixture placed in idle cut-off, and the propeller feathered. The Pilot Operating Handbook also showed the airplane would normally use 2,000 feet of runway for takeoff under the accident conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.