# Accident 20121207027339A: Cessna 501, Grand Forks, ND, December 7, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 7, 2012, 23:15 local time
- Place: Grand Forks, ND
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 46.8208° N, 96.0097° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.8208&lon=-96.0097&mi=10
- Aircraft: N212M, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N212M) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 501 (registry code 2076603, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-501) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-1 series (registry code 52060, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-jt15d-1-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 501
- Reported engine: WILLIAMS FJ44-2A
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 10,161 total, 810 in this make and model, 61 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN13FA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA101) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20121207027339A

## Narrative

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

ON  DECEMBER  7,  2012,  ABOUT  2234  CENTRAL  STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 501 AIRPLANE, N212M, WAS

SUBSTANTIALLY  DAMAGED  DURING  RECOVERY  FROM AN IN-FLIGHT UPSET WHILE DEPARTING FROM DETROIT

LAKES AIRPORT (KDTL),  DETROIT LAKES, MINNESOTA. THE TWO PILOTS AND FOUR PASSENGERS WERE NOT

INJURED.  THE FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF  FEDERAL  REGULATIONS PART 91 WHILE ON AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN. NIGHT

INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS  PREVAILED  AT  THE  FLIGHT  LEVEL  OF THE ACCIDENT, WHICH HAD

AN INTENDED DESTINATION OF BESSEMER AIRPORT (KEKY), BESSEMER, ALABAMA.

WHILE  CLIMBING  THROUGH  APPROXIMATELY  7,000  FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL), WITH THE AUTOPILOT

ENGAGED, THE PILOTS STATED THE ATTITUDE INDICATOR FOR THE PILOT IN COMMAND (PIC) BECAME INOPERATIVE

AND THE AUTOPILOT  ROLLED  THE AIRCRAFT INTO AN UNUSUAL ATTITUDE. THE PIC DISENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT

AND RECOVERED  THE  AIRCRAFT  TO  LEVEL  FLIGHT, PRIMARILY BY REFERENCING THE TURN NEEDLE AND

DIRECTIONAL  GYRO.  BOTH  WINGS WERE SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED BY AERODYNAMIC FORCES DURING THE

RECOVERY MANEUVER. THE  PILOTS  DIVERTED  TO  GRAND  FORKS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KGFK), GRAND

FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.

DAKOTA AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.

## 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 CEN13FA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA101), Dec 8, 2012: Cessna 501 (N212M), Detroit Lakes, MN, substantial damage. Probable cause: A loss of airplane control due to an undetermined avionics malfunction and the pilots’ inattention, which resulted in excessive airframe forces during the unusual attitude recovery. The reason for…

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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