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Return to airport fatal for Cessna 414 pilot — General Aviation News

Return to airport fatal for Cessna 414 pilot — General Aviation News


The Cessna 414 had undergone an annual inspection at Modesto City-County Airport-Harry Sham Field (KMOD) in California that was completed Jan. 4, 2023.

The airplane remained at KMOD until the pilot picked it up on Jan. 18, 2023, the day of the accident.

Fueling records indicate the airplane was refueled with 73.5 gallons of 100LL that day.

The airplane departed Runway 10L at KMOD at 12:59. According to the Modesto tower controller, the pilot’s planned destination was Buchanan Field Airport (KCCR), in Concord, California.

ADS-B flight data showed that the airplane climbed to 3,200 feet as it made a right turn and departed to the northwest, reaching about 150 knots.

At 13:01, the Modesto local tower controller instructed the pilot to switch radio frequencies to Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control. The pilot responded that he was switching frequencies, but his subsequent radio transmission was on the KMOD frequency.

The pilot made several more radio transmissions that indicated he was attempting to change radio frequencies, but that his radio was not changing frequencies. The tower controller asked the pilot if he wanted to return to KMOD and the pilot responded that he did.

He was then instructed to make a left 180° turn and enter a left downwind pattern to Runway 28 right.

The flight track data showed that at 13:02 the airplane made a left turn back to the southeast and paralleled the runway about three miles west of KMOD before descending and flying a non-standard traffic pattern for Runway 28R.

At 13:04, the pilot queried the tower controller if they could hear him, and the tower controller responded that they had heard all his transmissions. The pilot again stated that his radio was not changing frequencies.

At 13:05, the flight track data showed the airplane had descended to a pattern altitude of about 1,500 feet and a groundspeed of 96 knots and was abeam the Runway 28R threshold. The controller asked if he had the runway in sight. The pilot replied that he did have the runway in sight, and he was subsequently cleared to land.

The pilot was informed Runway 28R “was the long runway” and he read back that he was cleared to land Runway 28R. The airplane then made a left base turn to the northeast on a heading directly towards the runway threshold.

During the left base turn, the airplane angled further left towards a point about 1,000 feet beyond the Runway 28R threshold and maintained a groundspeed of about 90 knots and continued to descend until it reached 200 feet about 0.5 miles from the runway.

The airplane then entered a right turn to about a 090° heading before it started a left turn to the north. During the left turn, the groundspeed decreased from about 72 knots to 53 knots and the altitude decreased to 100 feet when the last ADS-B return was recorded at 13:06:56 near site of the accident.

An aeromedical helicopter pilot and flight nurse reported they had just departed a hospital helipad about three miles north of KMOD when they heard a pilot on the KMOD tower frequency asking the controller if he could hear the pilot. The tower controller responded that they heard the pilot the entire time.

The helicopter crew then observed the airplane maneuvering on what they thought was a downwind leg of the traffic pattern. They said the airplane was doing unusual maneuvers, “like S-turns.”

The flight nurse, who was a private pilot, told the crew that the pilot was going to stall the airplane. A few seconds later, they witnessed the airplane stall and spin to the ground.

Another witness, who was about a mile from the accident site, observed the airplane’s departure and then the final moments of the flight. He said the engines sounded normal as the airplane departed and returned, and he heard the engines rpm increase as the airplane descended in a spin.

Dash camera video was obtained from an unknown witness that showed the final seconds of the flight. The video showed the airplane’s bank angle increase, the nose drop, and the airplane enter a near vertical left spin.

The plane crashed into soft terrain and was resting about 80° nose down on a 240° heading. Both the left and right engines and propellers were fully buried, with just the aft portions of the engines at ground level. The pilot was killed in the crash.

Both the left and right wings were separated near the outboard edges of the wing flaps on each wing. The flap system was observed with the left flaps in the extended position and the right flaps impact damaged (the control rod was fractured). The landing gear were in the down position.

The forward portion of the fuselage forward of the instrument panel was crushed and embedded in the ground. The fuselage was intact aft of the cockpit until just forward of the empennage. The empennage, including the left and right horizontal stabilizers and the vertical stabilizer, was bent to the right side of the aircraft. Both the left and right elevators and the rudder remained attached to the empennage.

All major structural components of the airplane were identified at the accident site. Flight control cable continuity was established from the control surfaces to the cockpit controls with overload separation at both aileron bell cranks consistent with impact damage.

A post-accident examination of the airframe and left engine revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A complete examination of the right engine was not accomplished due to impact damage. The three propeller blades on the right engine were bent aft and exhibited leading edge polishing and chordwise scratches.

The airplane was equipped with an Insight engine data monitor that stored engine performance data. Data was recovered from the device that was dated from the day of the accident.

The data did not record identical performance parameters for each engine during all phases of flight. Generally, the data for the No. 1 engine reflected higher performance numbers than the No. 2 engine. The disparity was more evident when the data reflected both engines were operating at lower power settings. No anomalous data was observed when viewing the data for each engine individually, according to investigators.

Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and failure to maintain proper airspeed during a turn to final, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction due to a non-critical radio anomaly.

NTSB Identification: 106599

To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.

This January 2023 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.



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