# NTSB ANC06LA098: Cessna 402B, N991PH, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, July 23, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 23, 2006, 16:53 local (20:53 UTC) - Place: Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Coordinates: 26.197221, -80.170555 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.1972&lon=-80.1706&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 26, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA Ft. Lauderdale FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 64236 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC06LA098 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/64236/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC06LA098 ## Probable cause The pilot's continued flight into adverse weather, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a collision with an airport runway sign, and subsequent collapse of the nose gear. A factor contributing to the accident was a thunderstorm. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with weather, landing - roll - weather condition - thunderstorm (contributing factor) - flight into adverse weather - continued, pilot in command (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - airport sign/marker - Nose gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The commercial certificated pilot departed from an ocean island airport in a twin-engine, wheel-equipped airplane at 1630 local time on a Title 14, CFR Part 91 VFR positioning flight to a mainland airport. At 1636, the weather conditions at the arrival airport included wind of 10 knots, with gusts to 25 knots, and a visibility of 1 statute mile in light thunderstorms and rain. At the time of the accident,1653, the weather conditions included wind of 6 knots, with gusts to 25 knots, and a visibility of 1/2 statute mile in heavy thunderstorms and rain. The weather observation at 1653 noted in the remarks section that thunderstorms began at 1613. During the landing roll, the airplane veered off the runway and collided with a runway sign, collapsing the nose gear. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and discovered that when the nose gear collapsed, the propellers struck the ground, and the airplane received structural damage to the fuselage. ## Factual narrative On July 23, 2006, about 1653 eastern daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 402B airplane, N991PH, sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway during the landing roll, and collided with a runway sign at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country positioning flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to Central Florida Therapy Specialists Inc., Eustis, Florida, but operated by the pilot, was returning to Ft. Lauderdale from a company non-revenue flight to the Bimini Islands, Bahamas. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the airport at the time of the accident. The flight originated at the South Bimini Airport, Bimini, Bahamas, about 1630, and a VFR flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on July 27, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, Ft. Lauderdale Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), Ft. Lauderdale, reported that the pilot was returning from South Bimini after dropping off the family of the owner of the airplane. The FAA inspector noted that when used for revenue service, the airplane was operated by Bimini Island Air Inc., Ft. Lauderdale. According to the inspector, the pilot was landing on runway 31 in a thunderstorm, with possible microburst activity. The airplane veered off the runway and collided with a runway sign, and the nose gear collapsed. Following his inspection of the airplane on July 26, the inspector discovered that the propellers struck the ground, and the airplane received structural damage to the fuselage. At 1636, a special weather observation at the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport was reporting, in part: Wind, 050 degrees (true) at 10 knots, with gusts to 25 knots; visibility, 1 statute mile in light thunderstorms and rain; clouds and sky condition, 4,600 feet broken, 12,000 feet broken; temperature, 79 degrees F; dew point, 72 degrees F; altimeter, 30.01 inHg. Remarks: peak wind at 1627, 080 degrees at 27 knots; wind shift occurred at 1550. At 1653, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind, variable at 6 knots, with gusts to 25 knots; visibility, 1/2 statute mile in heavy thunderstorms and rain; clouds and sky condition, 4,600 feet broken, 12,000 feet broken; temperature, 77 degrees F; dew point, 68 degrees F; altimeter, 30.02 inHg. Remarks: peak wind at 1627, 080 degrees at 27 knots; wind shift occurred at 1550; thunderstorms began at 1613. Neither the pilot nor the company submitted an NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1). ## Aircraft - Registration: [N991PH](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N991PH-2017-04-04), registration cancelled 2017-04-04, S/N 402B1329, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 402B - Registry model: [Cessna 402B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-402b) (registry code 207590P) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 402B1329 - Engines: Continental TSIO-520E 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Gabriel Schwartz/Bimini Island Air - Registered owner: Central Florida Therapy Specialists Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: MYBS, South Bimini - Destination: KFXE, Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: KFXE, Ft. Lauderdale Executive, runway 31, 4,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 24; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 2,190 total ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Day - Wind: 6 knots, gusting 25 - Visibility: 0.5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,600 ft broken - Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: KFXE ## 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 20060723017289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060723017289A), Jul 23, 2006: Cessna 402B, Ft Lauderdale, FL, Substantial damage. (-23) On landing and during roll out on runway 31 during gusty and rainy landing conditions, the pilot was unable to maintain center line because the aircraft… 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.