Cessna 401 N3234Q

Summary

On 20 June 2004 at about 23:30 local time, a Cessna 401 registered N3234Q was involved in an accident near Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States. 2 people were 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 June 2004 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Mt. Vernon, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Mount Vernon (MVN)

Coordinates

38.3233, -88.8586

Aircraft

Cessna 401

Registration

N3234Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mt. Vernon → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04CA164

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's misjudgment of the landing flare. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to execute a stabilized approach for landing. An additional factor was the presence of the runway lights.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantially damaged during a hard landing. The left main landing gear subsequently collapsed and the airplane departed the left side of the runway, contacting two runway lights in the process. A witness reported that the accident aircraft turned a "close-in" left base at a "high power setting." He recalled thinking that the pilot was going to execute a "low level, high speed pass." The aircraft did not appear to him to be in a normal landing descent profile. According to this witness, the aircraft crossed the runway threshold approximately 35 feet above ground level (agl) and the power was reduced to idle. The aircraft leveled about 30 feet agl and subsequently settled to 5-10 feet agl. As it approached the intersecting runway, the aircraft "dropped" and landed on all three landing gear. He noted that a "large cloud" of smoke rose from all three wheels. After a ground roll of about 100 feet, the aircraft slowly began to settle onto its left wing and he could hear the propeller begin to hit the ground. Weather conditions recorded by the MVN Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) at 1755 were clear skies and winds from 020 degrees at 5 knots. At 1855, the AWOS recorded clear skies and calm winds. According to the accident report filed by the pilot, his most recent flight review was completed in July 1986. His most recent medical certificate was issued on May 11, 1999. The pilot did not include a narrative in his accident report.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.