Cessna 401 N3271Q
23 April 1992 · New Port Richey, Florida, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 23 April 1992 at about 20:06 local time, a Cessna 401 registered N3271Q, operated by Joseph A. McDonald, was involved in an accident near New Port Richey, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 20:06
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- New Port Richey, Florida, United States
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401
- Registration
- N3271Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Joseph A. McDonald
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Ferry
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Gainesville
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- MIA92FA114
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED (VS) WHILE MANEUVERING FOR A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING AN IN FLIGHT LEFT ENGINE FIRE FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S INADVERTENT SHUTDOWN OF THE WRONG ENGINE.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE PIC DEPARTED ON A FERRY FLIGHT IN VFR CONDITIONS WITHOUT A FERRY PERMIT. WITNESSES STATED THEY OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT AT ABOUT 150 TO 500 FEET. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO BEGAN A LEFT TURN WITH THE LANDING GEAR EXTENDED. A FIRE WAS OBSERVED IN THE VICINITY OF THE LEFT ENGINE EXHAUST. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED IN A STEEP DESCENDING LEFT TURN BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED BELOW THE TREE LINE AND COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 401 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Nov 1992 | Cessna 401B | Rice Lake, Wisconsin, United States | Freight Runners Express, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 1 Aug 1991 | Cessna 401 | Monroe, North Carolina, United States | Fisher, Hyman S | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Sep 1991 | Cessna 401 | Jackson, Tennessee, United States | Montague, Harvey L. | Serious injuries | - |
| 6 Mar 1991 | Cessna 401 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | Redwing Airways, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 27 Apr 1993 | Cessna 401 | Middle Caicos, Turks And Caicos Islands | Provo Flyers, Ltd. | No injuries | - |
| 24 Feb 1994 | Cessna 401A | Minot, North Dakota, United States | U.s. Dept of Health & Human SV | Fatal | 4 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 1992 | Cessna 150M | Stuart, Florida, United States | Flight Training International | No injuries | - |
| 9 Feb 1992 | Burch ROTORWAY EXEC | Lakeland, Florida, United States | Ronald W.case | No injuries | - |
| 9 Feb 1992 | Piper PA-32-260 | Kissimmee, Florida, United States | Perman, William | No injuries | - |
| 10 Feb 1992 | Piper PA-28-161 | New Smyrna Bch, Florida, United States | ACS, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 21 Feb 1992 | Cessna 172N | Orlando, Florida, United States | Flight Express, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 8 Feb 1992 | Cessna 152 | Perry, Florida, United States | Comair Aviation Academy | No injuries | - |