# NTSB ANC06LA069: Cessna 421B, N80MJ, Jacksonville, FL, June 4, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 4, 2006, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC) - Place: Jacksonville, FL - Coordinates: 30.336389, -81.514442 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.3364&lon=-81.5144&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report March 26, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Orlando, FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 63918 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC06LA069 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63918/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC06LA069 ## Probable cause An undetermined event during takeoff/initial climb, which resulted in an emergency landing after takeoff and substantial damage to the airplane. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Miscellaneous/other, takeoff - initial climb - emergency procedure - performed, pilot in command - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - Wheels up landing, emergency landing after takeoff - On ground/water collision with object, emergency landing after takeoff - object - sign - terrain condition - ground ## Analysis The private certificated pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. He reported that during initial climb after takeoff, he felt intense heat from the instrument panel and floorboard. He also thought he smelled smoke. The pilot declared an emergency, and returned to the airport. He said several aural warning alarms sounded, and his communications radio was inoperative. He reported he thought the airplane was on fire, and landed in the dirt between the runway and taxiway, with the landing gear retracted. The airplane collided with the ground and a runway sign, damaging its wings. An FAA operations inspector and an FAA maintenance inspector examined the airplane. They found no evidence of heat or smoke, and the navigation instruments and communications radios appeared to operate normally. The airplane was not examined by the NTSB. ## Factual narrative On June 4, 2006, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 421B airplane, N80MJ, sustained substantial damage during a gear-up landing at the Craig Municipal Airport, Jacksonville, Florida, following an emergency descent and landing after takeoff. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as an instrument flight rules (IFR) personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo private certificated pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on June 15, the pilot said during initial climb after takeoff he smelled smoke and felt heat in the cockpit. He said there was no place immediately ahead to land, so he turned back toward the airport. He said several aural warnings sounded. He thought one was the landing gear warning horn, and the other was his digital fuel indicator, which he said showed no fuel flow. He reported that during the descent to the airport, his communications radio malfunctioned, and he was unable to contact the tower after declaring the initial emergency. The pilot said he thought the airplane was on fire, and landed gear-up in the dirt between the taxiway and the runway. He said the four fuel tanks were full, and that no maintenance had recently been performed on the airplane. According to the pilot, the airplane collided with runway signs causing structural damage to the wings. On June 8, during a telephone conversation with the IIC, an FAA operations inspector said he had examined the accident airplane accompanied by an FAA maintenance inspector. He said they found no sign of heat or fire in the engine compartments or fuselage. He said when they applied power to the navigation instruments and communications equipment, they found no anomalies. The airplane was not examined by the NTSB. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N80MJ](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N80MJ-2017-07-06), registration cancelled 2017-07-06, S/N 421B0311, built 1972 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 421B - Registry model: [Cessna 421B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421b) (registry code 2076014) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental GTSIO-520-C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-gtsio-520-c) (registry code 17035, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 421B0311 - Airframe hours: 3392 - Engines: Continental GTSIO-520-H 375 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Edward Carpenter - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 1, 2005, 43 hours before - Departed: CRG, Jacksonville, FL - Destination: PEN, Pensacola, FL - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: CRG, Craig Airport, runway 14, 4,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 67; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 1, 2006; seat: left; flight hours: 1,654 total, 580 in this make and model, 1,654 as pilot in command, 13 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20060604010969A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060604010969A), Jun 4, 2006: Cessna 421B, Jacksonville, FL, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot departed runway 32 on an IFR clearance to pensacola, FL. Shortly after takeoff aircraft made a left 270 degree turn and then a 90 degree right turn… 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. --- 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.