Cessna 208B N702PA

Summary

On 5 September 2007 at about 09:33 local time, a Cessna 208B registered N702PA, operated by Paragon Air Express, Inc, was involved in an accident near Cross City, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 September 2007 at 09:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Cross City, Florida, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 208B

Registration

N702PA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Paragon Air Express, Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mobile → Tampa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

MIA07LA140

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to the fracture and separation of the compressor turbine blades for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the unsuitable terrain for a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he was on a repositioning flight to Tampa, Florida. He was cruising at 11,000 feet msl when, with no warning or spool down time, the engine failed. The engine indications instantly went to zero. The pilot declared an emergency to the air traffic controller and was advised that the nearest airport was 29 miles away. He maneuvered the airplane toward the airport and went through the engine failure procedures. The attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot configured the airplane for best glide speed. After gliding for 22 miles, the airplane's altitude was about 300 feet msl. The pilot slowed the airplane to just above stall speed before impacting small pine trees pulling back on the yoke and stalling the airplane into the trees. The engine was examined at Pratt and Whitney of Canada, with Transportation Safety Board of Canada oversight. The engine compressor turbine blades were fractured at varying heights from the roots to approximately half of the span. Materials analysis determined the blade fractures to display impact damage and overheating. The primary cause of the blade fractures could not be determined. There were no other pre-impact anomalies or operational dysfunction observed to any of the engine components examined. Impact damage to the blade airfoils precluded determination of the original fracture mechanism.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.