# Accident 20160523010069A: Cessna 501, Texarkana, AR, May 23, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 23, 2016, 21:30 local time
- Place: Texarkana, AR
- Airport: Texarkana Regional-Webb Field
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.4417° N, 94.0378° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4417&lon=-94.0378&mi=10
- Aircraft: N804ST, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N804ST) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 501 (registry code 2076603, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-501) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Williams FJ-44 series (registry code 66000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/williams-fj-44-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 501
- Reported engine: WILLIAMS FJ 44 SERIES
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 15,000 total, 4,000 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN16LA197](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA197) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160523010069A

## Narrative

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

ON MAY 23, 2016, AT 2130 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA CITATION 501, N804ST,  REGISTERED TO EAGLE II AERO, LLC, EXPERIENCED A RAPID DECOMPRESSION AT 43,000 FEET. THE FLIGHT WHICH WAS BOUND FOR SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (KSAT) MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING AT THE TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS (KTXK). THE 14 CFR PART 91 FLIGHT WAS OPERATING ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE AIRMAN WAS NOT WEARING HIS OXYGEN MASK AT THE TIME OF THE RAPID DECOMPRESSION. UPON RECOGNITION OF THE RAPID DECOMPRESSION, THE AIRMAN CONFIGURED THE AIRCRAFT FOR EMERGENCY DESCENT.

THE AIRMAN STATED WITHIN 20 SECONDS THE AIRCRAFT LOST ALL CABIN PRESSURIZATION AND THE CABIN ALTITUDE CLIMBED FROM 8,000 FEET AND 8.5 PSID TO AMBIENT ALTITUDE AND 0 PSID. AFTER COMMANDING A RAPID DESCENT, THE AIRMAN AND ALL OCCUPANTS LOST CONSCIOUSNESS BEFORE DONNING THEIR OXYGEN MASK. THE AIRCRAFT WENT INTO UNCONTROLLED FLIGHT FOR APPROXIMATELY 36,000 FEET WHEN THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS AT 7,000 FEET. THE AIRMAN BECAME FULLY COGNIZANT REGAINING CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT APPROXIMATELY 7,000 FEET, SUBSEQUENTLY MAKING AN UNEVENTFUL LANDING. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM PERRYVILLE, MISSOURI (KKO2). THERE WERE THREE PASSENGERS ON BOARD THE AIRCRAFT, ONE OF WHOM WAS SITTING IN THE OTHER COCKPIT FLIGHT CONTROL STATION.

POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE ROOT CAUSE WAS THE PRIMARY PRESSURIZATION DUCT INTO THE CABIN BEING SEPARATED FROM ITS CONNECTION TO THE WATER SEPARATOR (COALESCER).  THE DUCT?S METAL RETAINING CLAMP WAS PRESENT WITH ITS RETAINING SCREW IN PLACE. THE CLAMP WAS NOT FRACTURED AND WAS RESTING ON THE METAL FLANGE ATTACHED TO THE SEPARATOR.

## 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 CEN16LA197](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA197), May 24, 2016: Cessna 501 (N804ST), Texarkana, AR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to use supplemental oxygen as required during high-altitude flight, which resulted in his loss of consciousness following a loss of cabin pressurization. Contributing to the…

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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