Cessna 421B N31KT

Summary

On 3 October 2009 at about 00:16 local time, a Cessna 421B registered N31KT, operated by Western Air Charter, was involved in an accident near San Simeon, California, United States. 6 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

3 October 2009 at 00:16

Classification

Accident

Location

San Simeon, California, United States

Nearest airport

Hearst Castle Airstrip (PVT)

Coordinates

33.6636, -121.1986

Aircraft

Cessna 421B

Registration

N31KT

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Western Air Charter

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → San Simeon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA002

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to follow the manufacturer’s checklist and set the parking brake.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot taxied into the parking area, which appeared to be level from his perspective in the cockpit. Although the checklist called for setting the parking brake, the pilot elected to not use it since there were several chocks available on the ramp and no movement of the airplane was observed. He walked back to open the passenger door when the airplane began rolling backwards and impacted the windshield of a parked car. Although the parking area appeared level, the pilot indicated that later analysis showed there was a gradual slope.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.