Cessna 421B N34TM

Summary

On 27 May 1999 at about 23:26 local time, a Cessna 421B registered N34TM was involved in an accident near Jefferson City, Missouri, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 May 1999 at 23:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Jefferson City, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Jefferson City Memorial (JEF)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 421B

Registration

N34TM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Poplar Bluff → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99FA163

4 people died.

the pilot failed to maintain control of the airplane. A factor was the partial loss of power due to the exhaust valve fatigue failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted the ground in a nose low, inverted attitude. The pilot reported, 'Jeff Tower, N34TM, I've just lost power on the right engine, eh, left engine.' The airplane's altitude was approximately 200 to 400 feet when the airplane's wings wobbled back and forth. The airplane's wings banked approximately 90 degrees to the left, and then the airplane nosed over and impacted the ground. White smoke was seen coming from the belly of the airplane for 1 to 2 seconds about 20 seconds prior to it impacting the ground. The terrain was a flat, hard packed field used for growing grass sod. Both the left and right propellers were found 12 to 18 inches under the hard packed soil. Rotational paint transfer patterns from the propeller blades onto the hard packed soil were evident. The left and right propeller blades exhibited chordwise scratching and leading edge polishing. The #2 cylinder piston was broken and the piston pin was still attached to the piston rod. The NTSB Materials Laboratory examination revealed the fracture face of the #2 exhaust valve stem was consistent with a bending fatigue separation. Both #2 and #6 exhaust valve guides showed heavy wear that ovalized the bores. The annual inspection conducted on March 15, 1999, indicated the compression on the left engine was 80/64, 50, 67, 70, 69, and 62.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.