- Date
- December 16, 2003, 07:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mosinee, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N399CZBeech 99
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20031216035399A
- Case key
- 58495
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain the proper descent rate and his inadequate flare.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a hard landing. The pilot stated, "On approach to rwy 8 at [Central Wisconsin Airport] I got high [and] right of course. When I broke out of clouds around 1000 [feet above ground level] I saw the runway, realizing I was high I pulled the power back [and] increased my rate of descent. I started to arrest my rate of descent [and] add power to keep my speed up. The engines didn't spool up in time resulting in a hard [landing]. I noticed the right wing was a little low taxing in so I thought maybe I blew a tire on landing. Not until I shut down [and] got out did I realize I hit the prop about an inch back [and] the engine nacelle dropped down several inches in front." The weather was: Wind 330 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 4 statute miles; present weather light snow; sky condition overcast 300 feet; temperature 1 degree C; dew point -1 degree C; altimeter 29.41 inches of mercury. The pilot reported that the flight did not have any mechanical malfunctions.
Factual narrative
On December 16, 2003, about 0730 central standard time, a Beech 99, N399CZ, operated as Freight Runners Express flight 1544 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Mosinee, Wisconsin, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on runway 8 (7,645 feet by 150 feet, concrete) at Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA), near Mosinee, Wisconsin. The 14 CFR Part 135 non-scheduled domestic cargo flight was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airline transport pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated from General Mitchell International Airport, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, about 0630 and was landing at CWA at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated:
On approach to rwy 8 at CWA I got high [and] right of course.
When I broke out of clouds around 1000 [feet above ground level] I
saw the runway, realizing I was high I pulled the power back [and]
increased my rate of descent. I started to arrest my rate of descent
[and] add power to keep my speed up. The engines didn't spool up
in time resulting in a hard [landing]. I noticed the right wing was a
little low taxing in so I thought maybe I blew a tire on landing. Not
until I shut down [and] got out did I realize I hit the prop about an
inch back [and] the engine nacelle dropped down several inches in
front.
The pilot reported that the flight did not have any mechanical malfunctions.
At 0645, the CWA recorded weather was: Wind 330 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 4 statute miles; present weather light snow; sky condition overcast 300 feet; temperature 1 degree C; dew point -1 degree C; altimeter 29.41 inches of mercury.
At 0755, the CWA recorded weather was: Wind 330 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots; visibility 4 statute miles; present weather light snow; sky condition broken 1,200 feet, overcast 2,500 feet; temperature -2 degrees C; dew point -4 degrees C; altimeter 29.44 inches of mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N399CZ
- Reported as
- Beech 99
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U52
- Airframe hours
- 35,914.7
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A-27, 680 horsepower, turbo propPratt & Whitney PT6A-27, 680 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Freight Runners Express Inc
- Registered owner
- Freight Runners Express Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · December 9, 2003 · 8.1 hours before
- Departed
- MKE · Milwaukee, WI
- Destination
- CWA · Mosinee, WI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CWA · Central Wisconsin, runway 8, 7,645 × 150 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- November 10, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 55 in this make and model · 8,000 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 55 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.40 inHg
- Observed at
- CWA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.