Aviation Crash Map

Cessna 421C N805DC

27 March 2013 · Amarillo, Texas, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 27 March 2013 at about 15:45 local time, a Cessna 421C registered N805DC was involved in an accident near Amarillo, Texas, 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.

The record

Date
at 15:45
Classification
Accident
Location
Amarillo, Texas, United States
Nearest airport
River Falls Airport (81XA)
Coordinates
35.0803, -101.7564
Aircraft
Cessna 421C
Registration
N805DC
Category
Airplane
Engines
2
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Amarillo → Amarillo
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
CEN13LA208

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

Maintenance personnel's failure to detect the misadjustment of the left landing gear actuator's switch after recent maintenance, which prevented the landing gear from locking in the extended position and resulted in the landing gear collapsing during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane's left landing gear collapsed during landing. Postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed that the down-lock indicator switch on the left landing gear actuator had been turned about 1/2 turn farther inward than specified in the actuator manufacturer's assembly instructions. This incorrect adjustment of the left landing gear indicator switch resulted in the switch's plunger interfering with the actuator's internal locking mechanism, which prevented the actuator from locking in the down position. It also resulted in the left landing gear position indicator showing a down-and-locked position regardless of the gear's actual position. Maintenance records indicated that both main landing gear actuators were resealed at the annual inspection about 1 month before the accident. The maintenance manual included procedures for electrically testing the landing gear actuator switch for proper indication of the unlocked and locked conditions. If maintenance personnel had conducted the testing during the recent maintenance, the misadjusted switch likely would have been discovered.    

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 421 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
1 May 2013 Cessna 421A
N216WA
Oakland, California, United States - No injuries -
24 Sep 2013 Cessna 421-C
N556MB
Colombier-Saugnieu, France - Fatal 4
16 May 2013 Cessna 421C
N421W
Floriston, California, United States - Fatal 1
27 Aug 2013 Cessna 421C
N229H
Paris, Illinois, United States RSB Aviation, Inc. Fatal 1
27 Nov 2012 Cessna 421C
N67SR
Wells, Texas, United States - Fatal 1
8 Dec 2012 Cessna 421C
N297DB
Lake Worth, Florida, United States Subway Development of Southeast Florida, Inc. Fatal 1

All 507 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
25 Jul 2013 Piper PA-30
N8306Y
Amarillo, Texas, United States - Fatal 1
7 Sep 2013 Barrow ROSE PARRAKEET
N1732
Castroville, Texas, United States Timothy Barrow No injuries -
8 Feb 2013 North American-Medore SNJ-4
N2269U
Garden City, Texas, United States BP Residential LLC No injuries -
8 Jun 2013 Eurocopter AS 350 B3
N106LN
Grand Prairie, Texas, United States CFS Air LLC Minor injuries -
19 Apr 2013 Piper PA-32-301
N82723
Paris, Texas, United States - No injuries -
26 Jul 2013 Enstrom F-28A
N287Q
Danbury, Texas, United States Salaika Aviation LLC Serious injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States