# Accident 20130516007729A: Cessna 421C, Floriston, CA, May 16, 2013

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 16, 2013, 13:25 local time
- Place: Floriston, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.4661° N, 120.0478° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4661&lon=-120.0478&mi=10
- Aircraft: N421W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N421W-2018-02-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 421C (registry code 2076016, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental GTSI0-520-F-K (registry code 17031, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-gtsi0-520-f-k) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 421C
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR GTSI0-520-L
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,480 total, 79 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR13FA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13FA234) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130516007729A

## Narrative

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

N421W IFR ENROUTE KRHV TO KRNO WAS DESCENDING FROM 17000 FT MSL TO 13000 THEN CLEARD TO 11000.  SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS IN A SPIN AND ALL CONTACT WAS LOST.  A WITNESS STATED THAT HE HEARD THE PITCH OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES THAT SEEMED TO BE IN A DIVE BUT COULD NOT LOCATE IT WITH A DARK CLOUD COVER AND THE SOUND OF THUNDER IN THE AREA.  AS HE CONTINUED HIS SEARCH HE THEN SAW A LARGE PUFF OF BLACK SMOKE AND HEARD A LARGE CRASH WITH ENGINE SOUNDS BREAKING APART.  HE THEN DIALED 911 TO REPORT THE CRASH.

## 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 WPR13FA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13FA234), May 16, 2013: Cessna 421C (N421W), Floriston, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during descent while operating in instrument meteorological 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.

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