Cessna 560XL N607QS

Summary

On 1 December 2010 at about 18:36 local time, a Cessna 560XL registered N607QS, operated by Netjets Aviation Inc, was involved in an incident near Toledo, Ohio, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 December 2010 at 18:36

Classification

Incident

Location

Toledo, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Toledo Express Airport (TOL)

Coordinates

41.5869, -83.8078

Aircraft

Cessna 560XL

Registration

N607QS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Netjets Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Belmar → Toledo

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11IA087

Nobody was injured.

The manufacturer's inadequate initial design and subsequent modifications of the tailcone, which allowed moisture to collect and freeze around rudder cables during flight levels above the freezing level and resulted in a loss of rudder authority. Contributing to the accident was the lack of oversight of the manufacturer's design and production by the Federal Aviation Administration.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Cessna 560XL airplane encountered ground and/or in-flight moisture/rain, that collected in the tailcone stinger and subsequently froze around the rudder cables during flight at an altitude above the freezing level. When the pilot attempted to use the rudder to initiate a crosswind correction during the landing flare, he was unable to move the rudder pedals, but was able to land the airplane uneventfully. In the days and weeks that followed, several other 560XL airplanes encountered the same problem. As a result, the airplane manufacturer issued a service bulletin recommending that drain holes be added in the tailcone stinger. The manufacturer had already added the drain holes in production airplanes, yet some production airplanes had drain holes that were not the indicated size. The manufacturer then issued an alert service letter to modify the stinger drain. However, the alert service letter still did not remedy the problem; another 560XL airplane, modified in accordance with the alert service letter, sustained ice-bound rudder cables. The manufacturer subsequently issued a mandatory service bulletin that required the installation of a seal and drain to improve water drainage from the stinger. The misdrilled holes on production airplanes were not detected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) district office assigned to oversee the incident airplane. The manufacturer has subsequently instituted a specific inspection criteria to verify the drain hole installation on production airplanes, and the FAA has verified engineering requirements, planning changes for technicians to follow, and actual holes, including their dimensions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.