# NTSB FTW94FA038: Cessna T303, N2297C, Rogers, AR, November 26, 1993 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: November 25, 1993, 18:04 local (Nov 26, 1993, 00:04 UTC) - Place: Rogers, AR - Coordinates: 36.329883, -94.130325 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3299&lon=-94.1303&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report October 20, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 18871 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW94FA038 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/18871/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=18871 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW94FA038 ## Probable cause THE PILOT'S CONTINUED FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE ENSUING INADVERTENT STALL. FACTORS WERE THE ICING CONDITIONS, THE FOG, THE DRIZZLE, THE DARK NIGHT LIGHT CONDITIONS, AND THE PILOT'S DISREGARD FOR THE FORECASTED WEATHER CONDITIONS. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, approach - vfr pattern - base leg/base to final - weather condition - icing conditions (contributing factor) - weather condition - fog (contributing factor) - weather condition - drizzle/mist (contributing factor) - flight into known adverse weather - intentional, pilot in command - light condition - dark night (contributing factor) - weather forecast - disregarded, pilot in command - flight into known adverse weather - continued, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - wing - ice - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis THE INSTRUMENT RATED PRIVATE PILOT DEPARTED ON A NIGHT IFR CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT INTO FORECASTED ICING CONDITIONS. DURING THE APPROACH AT HIS DESTINATION AIRPORT, THE PILOT REQUESTED LOWER ALTITUDE TO ATTEMPT TO BREAKOUT FROM THE WEATHER. AFTER BEING ASSIGNED 3,100 FEET AND OBTAINING A CLEARANCE FOR THE ILS APPROACH, THE PILOT CANCELLED IFR DURING DESCENT AND PROCEEDED VISUALLY FOR THE AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT OPERATED IN AN AREA OF REPORTED FREEZING RAIN AND ICE PELLETS, WITH FOG AND DRIZZLE. CONTROL WAS LOST DURING THE TURN FROM BASE TO FINAL APPROACH. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 25, 1993, at 1804 central standard time, a Cessna T303, N2297C, was destroyed during approach to the Rogers Municipal Airport/Carter Field (ROG), near Rogers, Arkansas. The instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. Dark night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight. According to air traffic control, the airplane departed from the Arlington Municipal Airport (F54), near Arlington, Texas, at 1606 on an IFR flight plan, with the Rogers Municipal Airport as its destination. No anomalies were reported during the climb to the assigned altitude of 7,000 feet nor with the cruise portion of the flight. Approaching the destination airport, the airplane established contact with Fayetteville Approach Control at 1740 on the 200 degree radial at 46 miles and was later cleared for the ILS approach to runway 19 at 1750. At 1754,(12 DME from Carter NDB) the pilot requested 3,000 feet, and was assigned 3,100 feet. At 1757, the pilot reported cancelling IFR and descending for runway 01. Several witnesses either observed or heard the airplane during the approach. All of the witnesses concurred that sleet and freezing rain were falling at the time of the accident, and that visibilities were less than one mile. The witnesses also concurred that the "airplane appeared to be operating at a very high power setting and moving at a very slow rate." N2297C was the only airplane that was reported to have operated in the vicinity of the Rogers Airport on the date of the accident. According to an airport operator, the pilot made flights to the Rogers Airport on a regular basis. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION N2297C was the second Cessna T303 owned by the pilot. According to the mechanic maintaining the airplane, the aircraft, engines, and propeller logbooks were always kept in a pouch in the rear of the airplane. All aircraft records were presumed destroyed by fire. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The pilot called the Fort Worth Flight Service Station by telephone at 1319 to obtain a weather briefing and file an IFR flight plan. At 1522, the pilot called again to revise his proposed departure time and obtain a weather update. Freezing rain and ice pellets, with low ceilings and visibilities were reported throughout the area at the time of the accident. The forecasted weather provided during the initial briefing and weather update gave an accurate description of the weather encountered. Detailed weather reports and forecasts for the area are enclosed in this report. COMMUNICATIONS When the pilot requested a descent to 3,000 feet he indicated that he could "breakout" of the overcast if allowed to descent. When his descent to 3,100 feet was approved he was cleared for the ILS approach and instructed to report the Carter NDB outbound. The Carter NDB was 5.1 miles north northwest of the runway. Two minutes and 42 seconds later the pilot cancelled his IFR flight plan. There was no indication that he initiated the published instrument approach. The transcripts from all pertinent communications between the pilot and the pertinent ATC facilities, to include his weather briefing and update, are enclosed in this report. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane, configured with the landing gear down and the flaps retracted, made a ground scar on a measured heading of 240 degrees, and came to rest on a measured heading of 185 degrees. Several branches and limbs on trees in the path of the airplane, short of the ground scars, were found damaged or broken. A red lens, identified as the wing tip navigational light for the left wing, was located 12 inches from the initial ground scar. The left wing was found broken outboard of the engine nacelle. The initial point of impact was approximately 1/2 mile from the approach end of Runway 19, about 250 feet west of the runway extended centerline. All three landing gears were found separated from the airframe. The right propeller separated from the engine. All three blades remained attached to the hub assembly, and all blades exhibited "S" type bending and leading edge gouges. The left propeller remained attached to the engine. One blade displayed rotational marks and torsional twisting. Control continuity was established for the rudder, rudder trim, elevator, and elevator trim. The control cables for the ailerons appeared to be intact, but could not be moved. Examination of the airplane and engines at the accident site did not disclose any mechanical problems. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION An autopsy and toxicological tests were ordered and performed. The autopsy was performed on November 29, 1993, by William Q. Sturner, M.D., Chief Medical Examiner for the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, at Little Rock, Arkansas. Toxicology findings were negative. FIRE A post impact fire destroyed the wreckage. The fire was concentrated in the cockpit and cabin area as well as the outboard sections of both wings. No evidence of pre-impact fire was found during the investigation. ADDITIONAL DATA The wreckage was released to the owner's representative at the accident site on November 29, 1993. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2297C](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2297C-1994-04-18), registration cancelled 1994-04-18, S/N T30300093 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA T303 - Registry model: [Cessna T303](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t303) (registry code 2073820) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: T30300093 - Airframe hours: 1450 - Engines: CONTINENTAL TSIO-520-AE 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Steves, Raymond - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Special, Provisional (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 26, 1993, 40 hours before - Departed: F54, ARLINGTON, TX - Flight plan: IFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 1,786 total, 907 in this make and model, 1,635 as pilot in command, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Night/dark - Wind: 310° at 6 knots - Visibility: 0.5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 500 ft overcast - Temperature: 25 °F ## 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 19931125044419A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19931125044419A), Nov 25, 1993: Cessna T303, Rogers, AR, Destroyed, 2 fatal. Operated known icing. Iced up made VOR. Began circle to land lost control and crashed turning final. Freezing rain. ## Docket (15 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 5, 1995, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=18871. 2.8 MB in all. - Supplement A (item 1, .PDF, 258 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013172&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20A-Master.PDF - Supplement B (item 2, .PDF, 416 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013173&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20B-Master.PDF - Supplement S (item 3, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013174&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Supplement%20S-Master.PDF - Witness Statements (item 4, .PDF, 567 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424049&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Witness%20Statements-Redacted.PDF - Chart of Accident Area (item 5, .PDF, 123 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013176&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Chart%20of%20Accident%20Area-Master.PDF - Wreckage Diagrams (item 6, .PDF, 36 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013177&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Wreckage%20Diagrams-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 7, .PDF, 269 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013178&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - Transcript of Radio Communications (item 8, .PDF, 539 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424050&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Transcript%20of%20Radio%20Communications-Redacted.PDF - Reports from Parties to the Investigation (item 9, .PDF, 115 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013180&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Parties%20to%20the%20Investigation-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 10, .PDF, 72 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424051&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF - Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 (item 11, .PDF, 99 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424052&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Release%20of%20Aircraft%20Wreckage,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.15-Redacted.PDF - Toxicological Report (item 12, .PDF, 98 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40424053&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicological%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1: Front view ofthe wreckage (item 13, .PDF, 77 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013184&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%3A%20%20Front%20view%20%20ofthe%20wreckage-Master.PDF - Photo 2: View of of the right side of the wreckage (item 14, .PDF, 44 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013185&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%3A%20%20View%20of%20of%20the%20right%20side%20%20of%20the%20wreckage-Master.PDF - Photo 3: View of the left side of the wreckage (item 15, .PDF, 77 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40013186&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%203%3A%20%20View%20of%20the%20left%20side%20of%20the%20wreckage-Master.PDF 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.