Cessna 340A N255BC

Summary

On 25 February 2017 at about 00:15 local time, a Cessna 340A registered N255BC, operated by Signicast LLC, was involved in an accident near Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States. One person was 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

25 February 2017 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Waukesha County Airport (UES)

Coordinates

43.0411, -88.2369

Aircraft

Cessna 340A

Registration

N255BC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

2

Operator

Signicast LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Juneau → Waukesha

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

CEN17CA114

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to fly in in conditions conducive to structural icing and her subsequent failure to maintain airplane control during the instrument approach.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before the positioning flight, the airline transport pilot monitored the weather and noticed the weather conditions were deteriorating near the time of the planned departure. The weather conditions included low visibility, freezing drizzle, and mist. In an effort to reduce the time in the deteriorating weather conditions, the pilot performed some before takeoff checks while the airplane was in the hangar. During the pilot's "haste" to preflight and take off, she inadvertently selected the wrong switch for windshield heat. While on the instrument approach to the runway in night conditions, the pilot had no forward visibility due to ice accumulation on the windshield. The pilot executed a missed approach and contacted an instructor pilot at the departure airport to confirm the location of the windshield heat switch. The pilot then activated the windshield heat switch and enough ice had melted for the pilot to conduct another approach. During the approach, the pilot increased the airspeed due to "carrying a lot of ice." On short final approach, the airplane descended below the glidepath due to the ice accumulation. Subsequently, the airplane contacted the terrain short of the runway and then "skipped" onto the runway. The airplane came to rest upright and off the runway surface. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.