Cessna 414 N8247Q

Summary

On 28 March 2001 at about 22:45 local time, a Cessna 414 registered N8247Q, operated by Air Transport Service Inc, was involved in an accident near Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 March 2001 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Crystal (MIC)

Coordinates

45.0591, -93.3406

Aircraft

Cessna 414

Registration

N8247Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Air Transport Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sidney → Minneapolis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI01LA109

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot not maintaining the proper airspeed during the circling approach, the inadvertent stall and the subsequent loss of control. Factors were the pilot's decision to continue the approach in weather conditions below the approach/landing minimums, the continued flight below the minimum descent altitude, the pilot not following the approach airspeed listed in the owner's manual, the air traffic controllers not issuing weather information to the pilot, and the weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane had been cleared for the VOR approach to the airport and was executing a circling maneuver to land when it impacted the ground short of the runway. The pilot said that, during the approach for landing, the aircraft, "...started behaving strangely in a [manner] I [ wasn't] familiar with, a wobble, or flopping in [the] tail section, not like a stall." Passengers indicated that the aircraft appeared to be low and that the aircraft banked to the left and rolled 90 degrees which pointed the left wing directly at the ground. According to the voice transcripts, the pilot did not advise controllers that he had current weather information, and the controllers did not provide current weather to the pilot as required by an FAA order. Radar data shows that at 1643:03 the aircraft was at 1,200 feet MSL altitude at a ground speed of 89 knots. The pilot requested and was given the weather at the destination airport as, "about three quarters to a half mile visibility here and a ceiling six hundred broken." At 1644:47, the pilot said, "okay i got the runway now how bout ah the reverse direction is that all right." Radar data shows that at 1644:44 the aircraft was at 1,000 feet altitude at a ground speed of 82 knots. The approach procedure for the VOR or GPS-A approach to MIC lists a minimum descent altitude of 1,360 feet MSL and a minimum visibility of 1 mile for catagory A, B and C aircraft. During voice communications between the aircraft and the control tower, the pilot said, at 1643:04, "thirteen hundred feet ah we're just starting to see the ground." The airplane owner's manual lists the minimum multi-engine approach speed as 107 miles per hour (MPH) indicated airspeed (IAS). The owner's manual lists the following stall speeds with the landing gear down and flaps extended 45 degrees: 81 MPH IAS at 0 degrees of bank; 83 MPH IAS at 20 degrees of bank; 92 MPH IAS at 40 degrees of bank; 115 MPH IAS at 60 degrees of bank. A postaccident examination of the aircraft was conducted and no anomalies were found that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.