# NTSB ATL05CA143: Cessna 402B, N1399G, Alabaster, AL, August 14, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 14, 2005, 06:30 local (11:30 UTC) - Place: Alabaster, AL - Coordinates: 33.183887, -86.793609 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1839&lon=-86.7936&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 27, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 62359 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL05CA143 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62359/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL05CA143 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - normal - reason for occurrence undetermined - 1 engine - Loss of engine power, cruise - all engines - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - terrain condition - other ## Analysis The flight departed the airport on a fairy permit heading southeast. About 25 minutes into the flight, at a cruise altitude of 3500 feet, the pilot noticed a significant loss of power from the left engine followed by the left engine failing. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and the left engine was feathered. The right engine would not generate more then 29 inches of manifold pressure without running rough. The airplane turned toward Shelby County Airport, the closest airport to the airplane's current position, and the pilot attempted to perform an emergency landing. The airplane continued to lose altitude and at 900 feet the pilot chose to force land on a road, 3 miles southeast of the Shelby Airport. The airplane collided with a raised manhole cover and two roadside objects upon landing. Examination of the airplane found the airplane to the right side of the road with the right gear detached. The right wing had two tears in the leading edge. The left engine was run after the accident for a period of four minutes at 1800 RPM. The prop was cycled out of feather, the magnetos, oil pressure, and fuel pressure were checked. All engine checks were satisfactory to normal standards. The airplane had not been flown in over two years and sat outside a hanger for two weeks prior to being flown with no fuel in either tank. The fuel tanks were filled to capacity the morning of the accident flight. No contaminates were found in the fuel. ## Factual narrative On August 14, 2005, at 0630 central daylight time, a Cessna 402B, N1399G, registered to and operated by Aircraft Wholesale LLC., collided with the ground 3 miles southeast of the Shelby County Airport, Alabaster, Alabama. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Bessemer Airport, Bessemer, Alabama, at 0605 August 14, 2005. The flight departed the airport on a ferry permit heading southeast. 25 minutes into the flight, at a cruise altitude of 3500 feet, the pilot noticed a significant loss of power from the left engine followed by the left engine failing. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and the left engine was feathered. The right engine would not generate more then 29 inches of manifold pressure without running rough. The airplane turned toward Shelby County Airport, the closest airport to the airplane's current position, and the pilot attempted to perform an emergency landing. The airplane continued to lose altitude and at 900 feet the pilot chose to force land on a road, 3 miles southeast of the Shelby Airport. The airplane collided with a raised manhole cover and two roadside objects upon landing. Examination of the airplane found the airplane to the right side of the road with the right gear detached. The right wing had two tears in the leading edge. The left engine was run after the accident for a period of four minutes at 1800 RPM. The prop was cycled out of feather, the magnetos, oil pressure, and fuel pressure were checked. All engine checks were satisfactory to normal standards. The airplane had not been flown in over two years and sat outside a hanger for two weeks prior to being flown with no fuel in either tank. The fuel tanks were filled to capacity the morning of the accident flight. No contaminates were found in the fuel. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1399G](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1399G-2013-04-11), registration cancelled 2013-04-11, S/N 402B0573, built 1974 (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: 402B0573 - Engines: Continental TSIO-520 SER reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Aircraft Wholesale LLC. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: EKY, Bessemer, AL - Destination: FL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: none; commercial, airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 4,000 total, 1,500 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 8 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 30.05 inHg - Observed at: KBHM ## 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 20050814018519A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050814018519A), Aug 14, 2005: Cessna 402B, Calera, AL, Substantial damage. (-23) On August 14, 2005 the pilot departed the bessemer airport (eky) at 6AM and started his climb approximately 15 to 20 miles south east to an altitude of… 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.