# Accident 19990101000089A: Cessna 421C, Shelbyville, TX, January 1, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 1, 1999, 17:05 local time - Place: Shelbyville, TX - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 31.7006° N, 93.9502° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7006&lon=-93.9502&mi=10 - Aircraft: N234CG, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N234CG-2000-05-01) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 421C (registry code 2076016, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421c) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 421C - Reported engine: CONT GTSIO520L - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 15,119 total, 290 in this make and model, 49 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA059) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990101000089A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT EXPERIENCED TOTAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE IN IMC AND ICING AT 140. ACFT DESCENDED TO VMC, AT 2000 MSL SEARCHED FOR ARPT. (.19) ON JANUARY 1, 1999, AT 1705 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 421C TWIN ENGINE AIRPLANE, N234CG, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING NEAR SHELBYVILLE, TEXAS. THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT RATED PILOT WAS NOT INJURED AND HIS 4 PASSENGERS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY METRO REDEVELOPMENT, INC. OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 BUSINESS CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM LAKEFRONT AIRPORT, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, AT 1520 EN ROUTE TO OMAHA, NEBRASKA. THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE FAA INSPECTOR THAT DURING CRUISE FLIGHT AT 14,000 FET MSL, WHILE IMC, ICING WAS ENCOUNTERED. AFTER ACTIVATING THE PROPELLER ANTI-ICE SYSTEM, HE OBSERVED THAT THE RIGHT PROPELLER ANTI-ICING CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS POPPED OUT. HE RESET THE CIRCUIT BREAKER AND THE AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED A TOTAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE. HE INITIATED AN EMERGENCY DESCENT, AND ENTERED INTO VFR CONDITIONS AT ABOUT 1,500 FEET. THE PILOT FURTHER REPORTED THAT HE FLEW AROUND ABOUT 30 MINUTES TRING TO LOCATE AN AIRPORT; HOWEVER, WITH IT GETTING DARK AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA, HE DECIDED TO LAND ON A ROAD. DURING THE LANDING ROLL ON A NARROW ROAD, WITH TREES ON BOTH SIDES, HE SWERVED THE AIRPLANE LEFT TO AVOID COLLIDING WITH A PICKUP TRUCK AND THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY THE FAA INSPECTOR REVEALED THAT BOTH WINGS WERE DAMAGED. THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR, NOSE LANDING GEAR, AND 5 FEET OF THE NOSE AREA FORWARD OF THE BULKHEAD WERE SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT.(.4) DURING A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER, THE PILOT TURNED THE AIRPLANE TO AVOID COLLIDING WITH A PICKUP TRUCK, AND THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE IMC, AT 14,000 FEET MSL, HE STARTED PREPARING FOR ICE PENETRATION AND TURNED ON THE TWO PROPELLER ANTI-ICE SWITCHES. THE RIGHT PROPELLER ANTI-ICING CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED, AND WHEN THE CIRCUIT BREAKER WAS RESET, THE AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED A TOTAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE. THE PILOT INITIATED AN EMERGENCY DESCENT, AND ENTERED INTO VFR CONDITIONS AT ABOUT 1,500 FEET. AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES OF TRYING TO LOCATE AN AIRPORT, WITH IT GETTING DARK AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA, THE PILOT ELECTED TO LAND ON A NARROW ROAD WITH TREES ON BOTH SIDES. TESTING OF THE ALTERNATOR SYSTEM REVEALED DISCREPANCIES WITH THE LEFT ALTERNATOR, BOTH VOLTAGE REGULATORS, AND THE RIGHT ALTERNATOR OUT SENSOR. (-23)TOTAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE IN IMC AT 14,000 FEET. PILOT DESCENDED ON STANDBY INSTRUMENTS UNTIL HE WAS ABLE TO GET GROUND CONTACT AND OCCASIONAL VMC BELOW 1,000 FEET AGL. PILOT WAS UNABLE TO FIND A SUITABLE AIRPORT AND MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A HALF MILE STRECH OF ROAD IN A HILLY FORESTED AREA. DURING THE LANDING THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK TREE BRANCHES WITHE THE LEFT WINGTIP. THE NOSE, FORWARD OF THE CABIN BULKHEAD, BOTH WING TIPS, AND THE LANDING GEAR WERE DESTROTED IN THE CRASH. THERE WAS A FUEL SPILL OF APPROXIMATELY 100 GALLONS, BUT NO FIRE. THE FIVE OCCUPANTS EXITED THE AIRCRAFT WITH ONLY MINOR INJURIES TO TWO PASSENGERS. ## 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 FTW99LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA059), Jan 1, 1999: Cessna 421C (N234CG), Shelbyville, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The total failure of the aircraft's electrical system. Factors were the thunderstorms, the dusk light condition, and the lack of suitable terrain for the precautionary landing. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.