Beechcraft C90A N90CH

Summary

On 27 April 2006 at about 18:25 local time, a Beechcraft C90A registered N90CH, operated by Carolina Air Charter, Inv, was involved in an incident near Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. 3 people were 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

27 April 2006 at 18:25

Classification

Incident

Location

Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Raleigh-Durham International (KRDU)

Coordinates

35.8831, -78.7903

Aircraft

Beechcraft C90A

Registration

N90CH

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Carolina Air Charter, Inv

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Concord → Washington

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL06IA071

Nobody was injured.

The inadequate manufacturing process, which resulted in a windshield fire and subsequent emergency landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While in cruise flight at 17,000 feet, the pilot smelled smoke. A few seconds later, flames and smoke started shooting out of the lower left windshield. The pilot turned off the windshield heat, and the flames went out, but the smoke persisted. The pilot declared an emergency with air traffic controllers, diverted, and landed the airplane safely. Examination of the airplane found scorch marks and soot on the left windshield near the terminal block. The damaged windshield was shipped to the manufacturer, PPG Industries, Inc., for further examination. Examination revealed the unit showed a condition similar to other units that were found to have overheated blocks during late 1996 and early 1997. These blocks were subject to a joint investigation by Raytheon Aircraft Company and PPG during 1997. That investigation identified the root cause of the terminal block overheating, relating to the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process was corrected by PPG in August 1996. Raytheon issued Safety Communiqué No. 134, describing the events, part numbers affected, and procedures to perform in case of such an event. These procedures were added to the FAA-approved airplane operating handbook in June 1997. The damaged windshield from this incident was one of the windshields manufactured just before the manufacturing process was corrected.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.