- Date
- February 4, 1989, 12:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Hyannis, MA
- Injuries
- 10 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N49PBCessna 402B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890204001909A
- Case key
- 36376
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
Inadequate preflight planning and preparation by the pilot which resulted in improper weight and balance (aft CG). The aft CG also contributed to the uncommanded altitude deviation after takeoff.
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
Nine members of a varsity basketball team boarded the acft w/o the plt getting accurate passenger weights & the baggage was placed in the aft baggage compartment. As the plt entered the cabin & was closing the door, the tail of the acft fell hard to the ramp. The plt raised the tail & elected to cont the flt. After reboarding, he taxied to the runway & began the takeoff. As the acft was climbing thru aprx 200 to 400 ft AGL, the plt announced there was a problem & asked the passengers to move forward. At that time, the nose of the acft was higher than normal & the stall warning horn sounded. The passengers moved as FAR forward as feasible & stayed there until after the acft was landed. A post-flt exam of the acft revealed a stringer, rear bulkhead, elevator control tube & the housing for the tail navigation light were damaged. No ballast was installed in the forward baggage compartment. A recalculation of the aircraft's weight & balance, using the actual weights of the passengers, revealed the center-of-gravity (CG) was behind the aft limit.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N49PB
- Reported as
- Cessna 402B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402B1361
- Airframe hours
- 5,150
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-E, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Spectrum Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · February 3, 1989
- Departed
- HYA
- Destination
- ACK · Nantucket, MA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- HYA · Barnstable Muni
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,978 total · 525 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.