- Date
- February 24, 1998, 11:41 local (19:41 UTC)
- Place
- Oakland, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N20FWBeech BE99
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980224012269I
- Case key
- 29967
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
Water accumulation in the tail section of the aircraft that froze around the elevator control cables which restricted the movement of the elevator. Contributing factors were the accumulation of debris in the limbers and drain hole for the affected area. A finding was the fact that this area cannot be easily inspected by the pilot due to the need for hand tools to gain visual access.
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 aircraft encountered elevator control problems while en route and landed safely at his destination. During a post-landing inspection, ice formation was found in the tail section of the aircraft in an area surrounding the elevator control cables. The water drain hole and limbers that evacuate this area were found clogged with fuzz-like fibers.
Factual narrative
On February 24, 1998, at 1141 hours Pacific standard time, the airline transport pilot of a Beech BE99, N20FW, encountered elevator control problems and landed safely at his destination. There was no aircraft damage or injury to the pilot, the sole occupant. The flight departed from Burbank, California, on a 14 CFR Part 135 air cargo flight to Oakland, California, and was being operated by Ameriflight, Incorporated, on an instrument flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the landing site.
During a postflight inspection, ice was observed in the tail section of the fuselage in an area that surrounded the elevator control cables. The "limbers" and water drain hole that evacuate this area were found clogged with small "fuzz-like" fibers. (See the sketch in Section 10.00 attached to this report.)
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20FW
- Reported as
- Beech BE99
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U-111
- Engine
- U/A Canada PT6 SER 578HP, 550 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Ameriflight, Inc.
- Registered owner
- National Leasing Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- BUR · Burbank, CA
- Destination
- OAK · Oakland, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 29
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 300 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 16 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N20FW · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.