Cessna 414 N5113G

Summary

On 31 May 2000 at about 23:28 local time, a Cessna 414 registered N5113G was involved in an accident near Monarch, Montana, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 May 2000 at 23:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Monarch, Montana, United States

Coordinates

46.9807, -110.8506

Aircraft

Cessna 414

Registration

N5113G

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Great Falls → Billings

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

Unk

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA00FA095

3 people died.

The failure of the pilot-in-command to ensure adequate airspeed for flight during a forced descent due to airframe icing, resulting in a stall. Factors included: freezing rain conditions, airframe icing, an improper decision by the pilot-in-command to turn toward mountainous terrain (where a turn toward lower and level terrain was a viable option), mountainous terrain, and insufficient altitude available for stall recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During climbout, the airplane encountered an area of freezing rain resulting in rapid airframe ice accretion and loss of climb capability. The pilot informed ATC that he was unable to maintain altitude and requested and received clearance back to Great Falls, the departure airport. ATC radar showed that the airplane then began a right turn over mountainous terrain extending up to 8,309 feet prior to loss of radar contact (lower and relatively flat terrain, down to less than 5,000 feet, was located to the left of the aircraft's track.) During the last minute of radar contact, the aircraft was in a right turn at a descent rate of about 400 feet per minute; the aircraft passed less than 1/2 mile from the 8,309-foot mountain summit just prior to loss of radar contact, at an altitude of 8,400 to 8,500 feet. The aircraft crashed on the southwest flank of the 8,309-foot mountain about 1/2 mile south of the last recorded radar position. Wreckage and impact signatures at the crash site were indicative of an inverted, steep-angle, relatively low-speed, downhill impact with the terrain. The investigation revealed no evidence of any aircraft mechanical problems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.