Cessna 208B N25SA

Summary

On 6 December 2004 at about 17:20 local time, a Cessna 208B registered N25SA, operated by Mountain Bird Inc., was involved in an accident near Bellevue, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 December 2004 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Bellevue, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Friedman Memorial (SUN)

Coordinates

43.3500, -114.2167

Aircraft

Cessna 208B

Registration

N25SA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mountain Bird Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salt Lake City → Hailey

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA05FA025

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while on approach for landing in icing conditions. Inadequate airspeed was a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Weather reporting facilities reported icing conditions in the area of the accident site. The pilot of a Cessna Citation flying the same RNAV approach twenty minutes prior to the accident aircraft reported picking up light to occasional moderate rime ice. The last communication between the local air traffic controller and the accident pilot indicated that the flight was two miles south of the final approach fix. The controller inquired if the pilot had the runway in sight, and the pilot reported "negative, still IMC." A witness on the ground near the accident site reported that he heard the aircraft first then saw it at a low level below the cloud base flying in a southeasterly direction. The witness stated that the right wing was lower than the left as the aircraft continued to descend. The witness then noted that the wings were moving "side to side" (up and down) a couple of times before the nose of the aircraft dropped near vertical to the terrain. This witness reported hearing the sound of the engine running steady throughout the event. The wreckage was located in a flat open field about 3,000 feet south of the final approach fix coordinates. The aircraft was destroyed by impact damage and a post crash fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.