Cessna 421B N31AS

Summary

On 4 July 2010 at about 05:15 local time, a Cessna 421B registered N31AS, operated by Ohara Flying Service II LP, was involved in an accident near Alpine, Texas, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 2010 at 05:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Alpine, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Alpine-Casparis Municipal (KE38)

Coordinates

30.4008, -103.6658

Aircraft

Cessna 421B

Registration

N31AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Ohara Flying Service II LP

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alpine → Odessa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN10MA367

5 people died.

The degraded performance of the airplane due to the pilot not properly setting the flaps and retracting the landing gear after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted terrain shortly after takeoff. The wreckage distribution was consistent with a high airspeed, low angle-of-attack impact. Examination of the ground scars and wreckage indicated that the landing gear was down, the flaps were down, and the engines were operating at a high power setting at the time of impact. An examination of the airframe, engines, and related systems revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures. According to the owner’s manual for the airplane, the flaps should have been retracted and the landing gear should have been brought up as soon as a climb profile was established. Based upon the location of the wreckage, the direction of the impact, and the location of the airport, it is likely that the airplane crashed within one or two minutes after takeoff. The extended landing gear and flaps degraded the climb performance of the airplane. The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate and had recent night flight experience. Toxicological results were positive for azacyclonol and ibuprofen but were not at levels that would have affected his performance. According to family members, the pilot normally slept from 2230 or 2300 to 0700; the accident occurred at 0015. Although the investigation was unable to determine how long the pilot had been awake before the accident or his sleep schedule in the three days prior to the accident, it is possible that the pilot was fatigued, as the accident occurred at a time when the pilot was normally asleep. The company did not have, and was not required to have guidance or a policy addressing fatigue management.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.