# Accident 20010501009099A: Mtsbsi MU2B40, The Woodlands, TX, May 1, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 1, 2001, 12:41 local time - Place: The Woodlands, TX - Damage: No damage - Location: 30.1489° N, 95.5094° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.1489&lon=-95.5094&mi=10 - Aircraft: N16CG, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N16CG-2002-01-11) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 (registry code 5780440, https://openairdocs.org/model/mitsubishi-mu-2b-40) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: AiResearch TPE331 series (registry code 01514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/airesearch-tpe331-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MTSBSI MU2B40 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW01FA111](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01FA111) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010501009099A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON MAY 1, 2001, APPROXIMATELY 1241 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A MITSUBISHI MU-2B-40, TWIN-ENGINE TURBOPROPELLER DRIVEN AIRPLANE, N16CG, IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT NEAR THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED, AND THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED; HOWEVER, SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE REPORTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT WHICH DEPARTED CONROE, TEXAS, AT 1233, WITH A PLANNED DESTINATION OF ALAMORGORDO, NEW MEXICO. WITNESSES REPORTED HEARING AN ENGINE SURGING NOISE, OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE IN A "FLAT" SPIN, AND SUBSEQUENTLY, SPINNING NOSE LOW TOWARD THE GROUND. ONE WITNESS DESCRIBED THE AIRPLANE AS SPINNING "LIKE A HELICOPTER BLADE." SEVERAL WITNESSES STATED THAT ONE OF THE PROPELLERS WAS NOT TURNING. SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE END PIECE OF A WING WAS MISSING. LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND WITNESSES REPORTED A POST-IMPACT FIRE. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST INVERTED. THE ACCIDENT SITE SITE WAS APPROXIMATELY 13 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY AIRPORT, CONROE, TEXAS. THE TERRAIN AT THE ACCIDENT SITE CONSISTED OF SOFT WET DIRT IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA. GROUND SCARS AND TREE SCRAPES WERE CONSISTENT WITH A VERTICAL IMPACT. SLASH MARKS, CONSISTENT WITH THE PROPELLER STRIKES, WERE FOUND ON ONE OF THE TREES. THE RIGHT WING FUEL TIP TANK HAS NOT BEEN LOCATED. (-23) ON MAY 1, 2001, APPROXIMATELY 1241 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A MITSUBISHI MU-2B-40, TWIN-ENGINE TURBOPROPELLER DRIVEN AIRPLANE, N16CG, IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT FROM 11200 FT., NEAR THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS PRIVATELY OWNED OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITION PREVAILED; HOWEVER, SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE REPORTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT WHICH DEPARTED CONROE, TEXAS, AT 1233, WITH A PLANNED DESTINATION OF ALAMORGORDO, NEW MEXICO. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS APPROXIMATELY 13 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY AIRPORT, CONROE, TEXAS. THE TERRAIN AT THE ACCIDENT SITE CONSISTED OF SOFT WET DIRT, IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA. GROUND SCARS AND TREE SCRAPES WERE CONSISTENT WITH A VERTICAL IMPACT. SLASH MARKS, CONSISTENT WITH THE PROPELLER STRIKES, WERE FOUND ON ONE OF THE TREES. IT APPEARED THAT THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS NOT UNDER POWER ON IMPACT. THE RIGHT WING FUEL TIP TANK HAS NOT BEEN LOCATED. ## 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 FTW01FA111](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01FA111), May 1, 2001: Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 (N16CG), The Woodlands, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control following a loss of right engine power, which resulted in impact with terrain in an uncontrolled descent. A contributing factor was the loss of right… ## Other reports on N16CG (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19810924062251A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810924062251A), Sep 24, 1981: Mtsbsi MU2B40 (N16CG), Flagstaff, AZ, Substantial damage. Aircraft collided with departing metro-liner, N161SW, during landing roll in foggy conditions. 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.