Cessna 560 N318RW

Summary

On 27 June 2019 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 560 registered N318RW, operated by Mueller Aero Inc, was involved in an accident near Janesville, Wisconsin, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 June 2019 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Janesville, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

42.6442, -88.9606

Aircraft

Cessna 560

Registration

N318RW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1990

Engines

2

Operator

Mueller Aero Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Las Vegas → Prairie du Sac

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA188

1 person was seriously injured.

The passenger’s decision to unbuckle her restraints during an in-flight turbulence event, resulting in serious injury.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had anticipated some turbulence along the route of flight, briefed his three passengers, and turned on the seat belt sign. At flight level (FL) 240, the flight encountered turbulence, and the pilot requested clearance to deviate from air traffic control (ATC), which ATC provided. Using on-board weather radar, the pilot determined that he needed a greater deviation and made several urgent requests for a clearance to deviate. ATC was not able to approve the deviation but instructed the pilot to descend from FL 240 to FL 200. During the descent, the airplane encountered the first of four 15- to 20-second severe turbulence events, with a 5- to 10-second interval between events. During the events, the pilot made several urgent requests for a deviation, but ATC was not able to approve the requests. As far as the pilot was aware, all the passengers were in their seats with seat restraints on during the turbulent portion of the flight. One of the passengers was an elderly man, and one passenger was his caregiver. The caregiver reported that she had gotten out of her seat to assist the elderly man in adjusting his restraints more firmly. During the time she had gotten up to assist, she was thrown about the cabin during the turbulence. The pilot landed the airplane as soon as possible, and the caregiver was treated at a local hospital for bone fractures to her right arm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.