ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 155954
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| Date: | Thursday 16 May 2013 |
| Time: | 13:30 |
| Type: |  Cessna 421C Golden Eagle |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N421W |
| MSN: | 421C0868 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9086 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental GTSIO-520-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Floriston, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Reid- Hillview Airport, CA (RHV) |
| Reno Airport, NV (RNO) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During a cross-country instrument flight rules (IFR) flight, the air traffic controller cleared the pilot to begin his initial descent for landing and issued a heading change to begin the approach. The pilot acknowledged the altitude and heading change. One minute later, the controller noticed that the airplane's radar track was not tracking the assigned heading. The controller queried the pilot as to his intentions, and the pilot replied that he was in a spin. There were no further communications with the pilot. The wreckage was subsequently located in steep mountainous terrain.
A study of the weather indicated widespread cloud cover in the area around the time of the accident. A witness near the accident site reported that he heard an airplane in a dive but could not see it due to the very dark clouds in the area. He heard the engine noise increase and decrease multiple times. It is likely that the pilot entered into the clouds and failed to maintain airplane control. The changes in the engine noise were most likely the result of the pilot's attempt to recover from the spin.
About 8 months before the accident, the pilot completed the initial pilot training course in the accident airplane and was signed off for IFR currency; however, recent or current IFR experience could not be determined.
Examination of the fragmented airplane and engines revealed no abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during descent while operating in instrument meteorological conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N421W
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2013 00:04 | Geno | Added |
| 17-May-2013 00:30 | Anon. | Updated [Source] |
| 17-May-2013 00:48 | wwbbww | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 17-May-2013 17:32 | Geno | Updated [Registration, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 28-Nov-2017 14:40 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-May-2022 11:18 | Captain Adam | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo] |
| 19-May-2022 11:18 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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