Cessna 401 N701CJ

Summary

On 20 May 1996 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 401 registered N701CJ was involved in an accident near Great Bend, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 May 1996 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Great Bend, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

38.3602, -98.7994

Aircraft

Cessna 401

Registration

N701CJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Garden City → McPherson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96FA171

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the exhaust header. Additional factors include the visual restrictions which prevented a detailed examination of the exhaust system, and the inadequate inspection procedures required in AD 75-23-08 R5.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the third flight of the day, he noticed a 5 to 6 inch drop in manifold pressure on the left engine. He noticed a brownish substance oozing out of the access panels and along the forward rivet line of the left wing. He secured the left engine. Prior to making an emergency landing at Great Bend, Kansas, 12 miles away, he noticed the right tank fuel gauge was indicating a rapid loss of fuel. Examination of the aircraft revealed that the left engine's inboard exhaust header had broken completely where it was covered by a heat shield and behind a canted bulkhead. Exhaust gases caused extensive heat damage to the engine support structure and firewall, and ruptured the right fuel tank crossfeed fuel line behind the left engine firewall. A 100=hour maintenance inspection had been conducted just 17 flight-hours prior to the accident. AD 75-23-08 R5 had been complied with. The AD requires a visual inspection of the exhaust system, but not a detailed inspection requiring disassembly of the system. As designed, it was not possible to visually inspect the exhaust system without disassembly.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.