# Incident 19981006041059I: Cessna 550, El Paso, TX, October 6, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 6, 1998, 10:40 local time
- Place: El Paso, TX
- Airport: El Paso International
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.8073° N, 106.3764° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at EL PASO INTL (ELP), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8073&lon=-106.3764&mi=10
- Aircraft: N551BC, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N551BC) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 550 (registry code 2076604, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-550) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 series (registry code 52112, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-jt15d-4-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 550
- Reported engine: PWA JT15D4
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,300 total, 1,500 in this make and model, 175 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981006041059I

## Narrative

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

(-5)ON OCTOBER 5, 1998, 0940 MDT, CESSNA CE-500-550, N551BC DECLARED AN EMERGENCY DUE TO CABIN PRESSURE LOSS. AIRCRAFT THEN MADE A RAPID DESCENT FROM FL390 TO FL260 BEFORE MAKING CONTACT WITH ATC.  THIS DECENT CAUSED AN ALTITUDE AND PROXIMITY CONFLICT WITH AMERICAN FLIGHT 912.  CLOSEST PROXIMITY WAS 200 FEET VERTICAL AND 4.8 NM HORIZONTAL SEPARATION.

## Other reports on N551BC (2)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20170324002189A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170324002189A), Mar 24, 2017: Cessna 550 (N551BC), Salt Lake City, UT, Substantial damage. While N551BC a citation 550 was descending through 6,000 MSL it encountered a birdstrike. Pilot reported some control issues but landed safely at kslc.…
- [Incident 19930811033399I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19930811033399I), Aug 11, 1993: Cessna 551 (N551BC), Grand Rapids, MI, Minor damage. On flare for landing, pilot lost all visual sight of runway. Drifted off runway. Landed onto sod, nose gear folded.

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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