# Accident 20050101002119A: Cessna 551, Ainsworth, NE, January 1, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 1, 2005, 11:22 local time
- Place: Ainsworth, NE
- Airport: Ainsworth Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach-IFR
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.5792° N, 99.9931° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.5792&lon=-99.9931&mi=10
- Aircraft: N35403, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N35403-2007-03-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 551 (registry code 2076605, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-551) (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 551
- Reported engine: PWA JT15D4
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,200 total, 475 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI05LA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05LA050) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050101002119A

## Narrative

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

(-23) APPROXIMATELY 1110 LOCAL DENVER CENTER CLEARED CESSNA CE-551, N35403 FOR THE APPROACH TO THE AINSWORTH, NEBRASKA AIRPORT. THE REPORTED WEATHER AT THE TIME, WIND 060 DEGREES AT 3 KNOTS, VISIBILITY 1 1/4 SM IN MIST, OVERCAST AT 500 FEET, TEMPERATURE 8 DEGREES CELSIUS, AND DEW POINT 9 DEGREES CELSIUS. THE PILOT HAD KNOWN ABOUT THE DETERIORATING WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING HIS FLIGHT BUT DID NOT ADD AN ALTERNATE TO HIS FLIGHT PLAN. HE DID NOT GET UPDATED WEATHER PRIOR TO STARTING THE APPROACH. THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT SET UP PROPERLY FOR AN APPROACH INTO ICING CONDITIONS; THE AIRCRAFT HAD AN ACCUMULATION OF RIME ICE 1/4 INCH THICH ON THE LEADING EDGES OF THE BOOTED SURFACES. THE PILOT WAS NOT PROFICIENT IN FLYING IN INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS.

## 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 CHI05LA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05LA050), Jan 1, 2005: Cessna 551 (N35403), Ainsworth, NE, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to continue below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) and his failure to fly the published missed-approach procedure. A factor to the accident was the pilot's improper use of…

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.