Cessna 414 N1576T

Summary

On 19 March 1994 at about 18:55 local time, a Cessna 414 registered N1576T was involved in an accident near Defiance, Ohio, 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.

Date

19 March 1994 at 18:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Defiance, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Defiance Memorial (DFE)

Coordinates

41.2810, -84.3598

Aircraft

Cessna 414

Registration

N1576T

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lancaster → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC94FA067

1 person died.

The pilot's inadequate inflight decision and planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the total loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT THE AIRPLANE WAS SEEN ON FINAL APPROACH FLYING IN AN ERRATIC MANNER AT A LOW ALTITUDE. TWO WITNESSES RIDING IN A CAR WROTE THEY SAW THE AIRPLANE, 'GOING UP AND DOWN TOWARD THE GROUND. WE COULD HEAR A FAINT CLICKING NOISE, AND THE PROPELLERS WERE GOING AROUND SLOWLY.' THE WITNESSES SAW THE AIRPLANE TAKE 'A SHORT NOSEDIVE AND CRASHED.' THEY WROTE THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT TRAVELING 'VERY FAST AND IT WS PRETTY LEVEL TO THE GROUND.' THE WITNESSES COULD NOT HEAR THE ENGINES BECAUSE THEY WERE IN A CAR. ACCORDING TO FUEL RECORDS, THE PILOT OF N1576T PUT 112 GALLONS OF FUEL ON BOARD THE AIRPLANE ON MARCH 17, 1994, AND THE FLIGHT STARTED AT 1030 ON MARCH 19, 1994. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT 1355, FOR A TOTAL FLIGHT TIME OF 3 HOURS AND 25 MINUTES. USING FUEL CONSUMPTION DATA FOR THIS AIRCRAFT IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT FUEL EXHAUSTION WOULD OCCUR AFTER 3 HOURS AND 4 MINUTES OF FLIGHT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.