- Date
- June 4, 2007, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Milwaukee, WI
- Injuries
- 6 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N550BPCessna 550
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 17, 2009
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- Parties
- Honeywell, Marlin Air, Inc., FAA, Cessna Aircraft, Pratt and Whitney
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20070604012579A
- Case key
- 65921
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 National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the pilots’ mismanagement of an abnormal flight control situation through improper actions, including failing to control airspeed and to prioritize control of the airplane, and lack of crew coordination. Contributing to the accident were Marlin Air’s operational safety deficiencies, including the inadequate checkrides administered by Marlin Air’s chief pilot/check airman, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to detect and correct those deficiencies, which placed a pilot who inadequately emphasized safety in the position of company chief pilot and designated check airman and placed an ill-prepared pilot in the first officer’s seat.
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 Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09/06.
On June 4, 2007, about 1600 central daylight time, a Cessna Citation 550, N550BP, impacted Lake Michigan shortly after departure from General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE). The two pilots and four passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was being operated by Marlin Air under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and departed MKE about 1557 with an intended destination of Willow Run Airport, near Ypsilanti, Michigan. At the time of the accident flight, marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the surface, and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed aloft; the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
Factual narrative
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/A_Acc1.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09/06.
On June 4, 2007, about 1600 central daylight time, a Cessna Citation 550, N550BP, impacted Lake Michigan shortly after departure from General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE). The two pilots and four passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was being operated by Marlin Air under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and departed MKE about 1557 with an intended destination of Willow Run Airport, near Ypsilanti, Michigan. At the time of the accident flight, marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the surface, and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed aloft; the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N550BP
- Reported as
- Cessna 550
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 550-0246
- Airframe hours
- 4,402
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4, 2,500 lbs thrust, turbo fanPratt & Whitney JT15D-4, 2,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Marlin Air Inc
- Registered owner
- Toy Air Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 1, 2007 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- MKE · Milwaukee, WI
- Destination
- YIP · Detroit, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MKE · General Mitchell International
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 59
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Private, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 1, 2007
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Injuries
- Fatal
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 10 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.53 inHg
- Observed at
- MKE, 5 nm away
Docket · 22
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 13, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 34.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.