# Accident 19971229039509A: Cessna 414A, Guyton, GA, December 29, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 29, 1997, 08:45 local time
- Place: Guyton, GA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.3296° N, 81.3907° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3296&lon=-81.3907&mi=10
- Aircraft: N414MT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N414MT-1998-04-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 414A (registry code 2075907, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-414a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 414A
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520NB
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,545 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98FA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98FA047) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971229039509A

## Narrative

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

CLIMBING TO FL250 PIC BECAME ILL. PASSED OUT. 414 CLIMBED TO FL350. STALLED. SPUN IN. WIFE RIGHT SEAT REPORTED EVEN (.4)ABOUT 26 MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF WHILE AT 21500 FEET, THE PILOT REQUESTED A NON EXISTENT ROUTE.  SEVEN MINUTES LATER, THE PASSENGER STATED THE PILOT WAS LIGHT HEADED AND FADING THEN HE HAD PASSED OUT.  THE PASSENGER HAD ONCE HELD A STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE AND ABOUT 5 YEARS EARLIER SHE HAD ACCRUED 73 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME IN CESSNA 150/152 AIRCRAFT.  THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER, AND OTHER PILOTS ON THE RADIO FREQUENCY TRIED TO ASSIST THE PASSENGER.  THE PASSENGER WAS ADVISED TO PROVIDE OXYGEN FOR HERSELF AND THE PILOT, BUT SHE WAS UNABLE.  THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED TO 34,200 FEET WHERE THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED CONTROLLED FLIGHT, RECOVERED, THEN DEPARTED CONTROLLED FLIGHT SEVERAL MORE TIMES BEFORE BEGINNING A NOSE LOW DESCENT.  WITNESSES REPORTED HEARING THE AIRPLANE ORBITING SEVERAL TIMES WHILE FLYING ABOVE A CLOUD LAYER THEN OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE ORBITING BENEATH THE CLOUDS.  WHILE IN A DESCENDING RIGHT WING LOW ATTITUDE, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND AND CAME TO REST SUBMERGED IN A POND.  EXAMINATION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS, ENGINES, AND                                   PROPELLERS REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. A DISCREPANCY WITH THE REGULATING VALVE WAS NOTED.  TWO SMALL HOLES WERE NOTED IN THE CABIN DOOR SEAL.  THE LEFT WING PRESSURIZATION DUCT HAD BEEN REPLACED ABOUT 8 YEARS EARLIER BUT THE RIGHT WING PRESSURIZATION DUCT, HAD NOT BEEN REPLACED.  THE DUCTS ARE ON-CONDITION COMPONENTS.  THERE WAS NO PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION NOTED WITH THE BAROMETRIC PRESSURE SWITCH, THE CABIN ALTITUDE ANNUNCIATOR BULBS, THE SAFETY VALVE, SOLENOID VALVE, OR DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE/CABIN ALTITUDE GAGUE.  TESTING FOR CORBONMONOXIDE FOR BOTH WAS NEGATIVE.                                                                (-23)N414MT WAS CLIMBING TO FL 250 ON A IFR FLIGHT PLAN, WHEN THE PASSENGER (WIFE) REPORTED TO ATC THAT THE PILOT WAS FEELING ILL AND SHORTLY PAST-OUT.  THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED, TO CLIMB TO APPROXIMATE FL 350.  THE IARCRAFT STALLED ENTER INTO A SPIN AND CRASHED.  TWO FATALS.

## 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 MIA98FA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98FA047), Dec 29, 1997: Cessna 414A (N414MT), Guyton, GA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: Inadequate maintenance of the cabin pressurization system, which resulted in inadequate pressurization and incapacitation of the pilot due to the hypoxia. Also causal was the pilot's failure to…

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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