Cessna 208B N1315A

Summary

On 23 December 1999 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 208B registered N1315A, operated by M&N Aviation, was involved in an accident near Adjuntas. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 December 1999 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Adjuntas

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 208B

Registration

N1315A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

M&N Aviation

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ponce → Aguadzilla

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL00LA018

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot continued flight into adverse weather conditions that included low ceiling and turbulence. Factors to the accident were trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While en route to the first schedule stop, the pilot heard a radio transmission that weather conditions in the vicinity of his next destination were 'bad.' Upon arriving, the pilot attempted to telephone Flight Service for a weather briefing and to file a flight plan. After efforts to contact Flight Service failed, the pilot elected to takeoff without a filing a flight plan. A few minutes into the flight, the pilot decided to return to the departure airport after the flight encountered deteriorating weather conditions that included heavy turbulence, and low ceilings. The airplane collided with trees as the pilot maneuvered the airplane. The post-accident examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or a component failure. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. A review of the en route flight charts disclosed that the terrain elevation at the departure point was approximately 24 feet. The terrain elevation at the approximate location of the accident site was 2,500 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.