# Accident 19971230039709A: Cessna 402B, Watertown, SD, December 30, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 30, 1997, 18:17 local time
- Place: Watertown, SD
- Airport: Watertown Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: DUFA
- Location: 44.9101° N, 97.1593° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.9101&lon=-97.1593&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5087Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5087Q-1999-06-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 402B (registry code 207590P, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-402b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 402B
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO520EB
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA073) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971230039709A

## Narrative

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

(.4)THE PILOT LANDED AT WATERTOWN, LOADED AND OFF-LOADED CARGO, AND DEPARTED WITHOUT GETTING OUT OF THE AIRPLANE. A WITNESS REPORTED SEEING THE AIRPLANE OVER THE RUNWAY AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 50 FEET AGL.  THE AIRPLANE WAS DESCRIBED TO BE BOUNCING AND BUFFETING.  ANOTHER WITNESS REPORTED THE WEATHER AS OVERCAST WITH OCCASIONAL SNOW FLAKES.  THE AIRPLANE THEN DESCENDED, IMPACTED THE TERRAIN AND EXPLODED.  POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED A 1/2 TO 3/4 INCH THICK RIDGE OF RIME ICE ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LEFT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER.  PIECES OF ARC SHAPED ICE WERE LOCATED ALONG THE WRECKAGE PATH.  INSPECTION OF THE WRECKAGE FAILED TO REVEAL ANY PREIMPACT FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ENGINE OR AIRFRAME WHICH WOULD HAVE PREVENTED FLIGHT.   (-23) AIRCRAFT CRASHED ABOUT 1/4 MILE FROM DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 12 AND  LEFT OF CENTER LINE.  AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO LAND IN UPRIGHT POSITION AND BROKE APART AFTER HITTING A CONCRETE STRUCTURE.  THERE WAS A POST CRASH FIRE.

## 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 CHI98LA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA073), Dec 31, 1997: Cessna 402B (N5087Q), Watertown, SD, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to perform an aircraft preflight and to remove the ice which had accumulated on the airframe. A factor involved in the accident was the icing weather conditions which existed and…

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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