Cessna 402 N322HA

Summary

On 14 June 2018 at about 16:00 local time, a Cessna 402 registered N322HA, operated by Air Flight Inc, was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. 4 people were 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

14 June 2018 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Intl (FLL)

Coordinates

26.0744, -80.1508

Aircraft

Cessna 402

Registration

N322HA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

2

Operator

Air Flight Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Lauderdale → Fresh Creek

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR18LA209

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the left starter relay, which resulted in a loss of electrical power during the flight and the failure of the T-handle from the cable led to a forced landing with the landing gear retracted.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 20 minutes into the flight, the airplane experienced a total electrical failure. The pilot maneuvered the airplane in circles while attempting to troubleshoot the problem and perform emergency checklists. Despite his efforts, power was not restored, and the electrically actuated hydraulic landing gear would not extend. The pilot attempted to extend the landing gear using the emergency extension system, but when he pulled the T-handle, it broke off from its housing, separating it from the cable. After additional troubleshooting attempts on the electrical system, the pilot chose to land at a nearby airport, and the airplane landed on the runway with the landing gear retracted, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. A mechanic who performed a postaccident examination of the airplane stated that the left starter motor and starter relay/solenoid had electrical shorts. Additionally, the starter relay remained in the closed position, which likely resulted in the airplane drawing a greater electrical load and draining the battery, leading to a complete loss of power. The emergency extension T-handle was not examined after the accident. However, based on the pilot’s account of the handle breaking off when he attempted to use the emergency extension system, it is likely this prevented the manual extension of the landing gear, which resulted in the forced landing with the landing gear retracted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.