# Accident 19970214046309A: Cessna 208B, Covington/Cinci, KY, February 14, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 14, 1997, 06:20 local time
- Place: Covington/Cinci, KY
- Airport: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky I
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: DEMA
- Location: 39.0800° N, 84.6992° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0800&lon=-84.6992&mi=10
- Aircraft: N922FE, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N922FE) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 208B (registry code 2073701, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-208b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 208B
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC97LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA054) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970214046309A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON FEBRUARY 14, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 1120 GMT (0620 EST), CAPTAIN BRETT ROBERT FREY, PIC OF A C-208 FEDERAL EXPRESS CARAVAN, N922FE, WAS ON ILS 27 FINAL APPROACH TO THE COVINGTON/CINCINNATI/NORTHERN KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (CVG) AT COVINGTON, KY. WEATHER WAS AT MINIMUMS OF 200 FT CEILING AND 1/2 SM. CAPT FREY STATED THAT AS HE WAS APPROACHING DECISION HEIGHT, HE BEGAN TO TRANSITION VISUALLY WHEN HE FELT A JOLT.  HE THOUGHT HE STRUCK A BIRD.  IN FACT, CAPT FREY MADE CONTACT WITH A TELEPHONE POLE AND WIRES.  THE POLE IS APPROXIMATELY 4350 FT FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 27. IT IS APPROXIMATELY 15 FT LEFT OF THE LEFT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY/RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS AND IS 29 FT 6 INCHES TALL.  CAPT FREY CONTACTED THE POLE AND WIRES WITH HIS LEFT WINGTIP APPROXIMATELY 2 FEET FROM THE TOP.  APPROXIMATELY 31 INCHES OF THE TOP OF THE POLE BROKE OFF AND WAS CARRIED AN UNDETERMINED DISTANCE BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT.  ATTACHED TO THE BROKEN OFF PIECE OF TELEPHONE POLE WAS APPROXIMATELY 192 FEET OF TELEPHONE WIRE WHICH SNAPPED COMPLETELY FREE.  MOST OF THE 192 FEET OF WIRE WAS WRAPPED AROUND THE AIRCRAFT WITH APPROXIMATELY 75-100 OF WIRE DRAGGING BEHIND.  THE LEFT WINGTIP ASSEMBLY AND LEFT AILERON WERE BROKEN OFF OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE LEFT TRAILING EDGE FLAP AND LEFT LANDING GEAR STRUT WERE DAMAGED. AIRCRAFT LANDED AND TAXIIED TO PARKING UNEVENTFULLY.  THE PILOT HAD TUNED, IDENTIFIED AND MONITORED AND HAD BOTH VOR NAV RECEIVERS TUNED TO THE PROPER ILS FREQUENCY.  PILOT TESTIFIED THAT THE ILS WAS RECEIVED NORMALLY. SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONAL TESTS CONFIRMED ON BOARD EQUIPMENT TESTED PROPERLY.  FAA AIRWAY FACILITIES PERSONNEL CONDUCTED TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE TESTS ALSO CONFIRMED THE ILS WAS FULLY OPERATIONAL. AN FAA FLIGHT TEST AIRCRAFT WAS DISPATCHED AND FLEW THE ILS TO RUNWAY 27 FURTHER CONFIRMING THE OPERATIONAL STATUS OF THE EQUIPMENT.  THE POLE AND WIRE STRUCK WERE ON AIRPORT PROPERTY. ALL THE AIRCRAFT DEBRIS, POLE AND WIRE PIECES, ETC., REMAINED ON AIRPORT PROPERTY. NO OTHER PERSONS WERE INJURED OR OTHER PROPERTY WAS DAMAGED.  CAPT FREY IS EMPLOYED BY BARON AVIATION SERVICES, INC., OF VICHY, MISSOURI.  THE AIRCRAFT IS OWNED BY FEDERAL EXPRESS; BARON AVIATION LEASES THE AIRCRAFT FROM THEM. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC97LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA054), Feb 14, 1997: Cessna 208B (N922FE), Covington, KY, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain the airplane on the ILS glide slope, which resulted in a descent below the glide path, and the inadvertent in-flight collision with a utility pole. Contributing…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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