- Date
- March 5, 1992, 15:04 local (20:04 UTC)
- Place
- Freeland, MI
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N69662Cessna 414
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19920305005079A
- Case key
- 15284
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 poor judgement in attempting flight after the airplane's fuselage was damaged during a loading operation. Factors which contributed to the accident were: the operator's failure to provide proper weight and balance data for the airplane, the pilot's failure to supervise the loading operation, and his failure to accept the services of a mechanic to inspect the damage.
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
While loading a patient & his personal gear in the aircraft for an air ambulance flight, the aircraft tipped onto its tail. As a result, the tail bumper was forced upward into the belly of the empennage. The pilot refused the offer to have a mechanic look at the damage, and remarked 'this has happened before.' After takeoff, the pilot radioed to the tower that he had a jammed elevator, and was coming around to land. While manuevering on a base leg, control was lost & the airplane was observed to crash with one wing perpendicular to the ground. Another airplane was in the takeoff position on the runway. The airplane was configured with a hospital litter/stretcher and oxygen bottle on the right side of the cabin. There was no record for the approval for, or installation of, the stretcher. In addition, there was no weight & balance record for the airplane with the stretcher installation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69662
- Reported as
- Cessna 414
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 414-0621
- Airframe hours
- 4,106
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-NB2, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Airborne Flying Service, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Tiffany Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 28, 1992 · 15 hours before
- Destination
- MDW · Chicago, IL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MBS · Tri-City Intl Airport, runway 5, 8,002 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 28
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,057 total · 184 in this make and model · 1,961 as pilot in command · 169 in the last 90 days · 94 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MBS, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.