Cessna 404 N404BA

Summary

On 13 May 2001 at about 23:33 local time, a Cessna 404 registered N404BA, operated by City Wings Inc, was involved in an accident near Pena Pobre, 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

13 May 2001 at 23:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Pena Pobre, United States

Coordinates

18.2217, -66.5892

Aircraft

Cessna 404

Registration

N404BA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

City Wings Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Croix → San Juan

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA01FA140

1 person died.

failure of the pilot-in-command to maintain altitude/clearance, resulting in an in-flight collision with rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was being handled as a VFR aircraft by air traffic control, was given a discreet transponder code, and was radar contact at an altitude of 4,500 feet. The pilot requested a VFR decent from 4,500 feet, and was cleared to "…descend unrestricted west bound." Radar and radio contact were lost at an altitude of 2,700 feet. The controller tried to re-establish radio contact with the airplane's pilot 10 times before initiating search and rescue efforts. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter found the wreckage, using the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter. The next day a ground search for the aircraft was halted because of hazardous terrain. Search and rescue personnel had to be air lifted into the crash site to remove the victim. A police helicopter was vectored to the crash site by ATC about an 1 1/2 hours after contact was lost with the flight, and the pilot reported that he could not fly near the crash site because of fog. He reported the ceiling about 2,400 feet. The aircraft impacted in heavily wooded, mountainous terrain at the 2,700-foot level of a 3,524-foot mountain. Toxicology test showed that venlafaxine and desmethylvenlafaxine drugs were found in the pilot's blood, and the levels found were consistent with the recent ingestion of more than 10 times a normal dose of venlafaxine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.