Cessna 551 N35403

Summary

On 1 January 2005 at about 17:20 local time, a Cessna 551 registered N35403 was involved in an accident near Ainsworth, Nebraska, United States. 5 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 January 2005 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Ainsworth, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Ainsworth Municipal Airport (ANW)

Coordinates

42.5792, -99.9931

Aircraft

Cessna 551

Registration

N35403

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reading → Ainsworth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05LA050

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's decision to continue below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) and his failure to fly the published missed-approach procedure. A factor to the accident was the pilot's improper use of windshield heat which resulted in the windshield becoming obscured with ice during the instrument approach in icing conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The twin-engine corporate jet impacted terrain while maneuvering to land after a global positioning system (GPS) approach. The pilot reported that the airplane entered icing conditions during the approach and that the airplane descended out of instrument meteorological conditions between 300-400 feet above ground level (agl). The pilot reported that his windshield had become obscured by ice accumulation during the approach and that he "had difficulty seeing the runway." The pilot elected to land the airplane instead of executing the published missed-approach procedure. The airplane impacted terrain 439 feet short of the runway threshold while in a right turn. After the accident, there was ice accumulation on all booted airframe surfaces measuring 2-4 inches wide and 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. The upper portions of the windscreens were contaminated with ice measuring about 3/8 inch thick. The remaining airframe portions, including the heated surfaces, were free of ice accumulation. The windshield bleed air switch was selected on "High" with the pilot's side windshield heat control knob approximately mid-range. Windshield alcohol was selected "On", but the alcohol reservoir was still full upon inspection. At the time of the accident, there was an overcast ceiling of 500 feet agl, 1-3/4 statute mile visibility with mist, and an outside temperature of -08 degrees Celsius. The published minimum descent altitude (MDA) for the GPS runway 17 approach is 500 feet agl, for an airplane equipped with a lateral navigation only GPS receiver. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with multi-engine land, instrument airplane, and Cessna 500 type rating. The pilot reported having 2,200 hours total flight time and 475 hours in the same make/model as the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.