21 Dec 2010: CESSNA 340A — WISCONSIN AVIATION INC

21 Dec 2010: CESSNA 340A — WISCONSIN AVIATION INC

No fatalities • Madison, WI, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to check the de-ice fluid level prior to takeoff, which resulted in the failure of the de-ice system to clear the windshield of ice.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

According to the pilot, he attempted two landings at the original destination airport; however, due to the weather conditions, the pilot elected to return to the departure airport. While on the instrument approach to the runway, the windshield became covered with ice and the de-ice system could not de-ice the windshield. The pilot then attempted the landing by looking out the left window. At 15 feet above the runway, the pilot noticed the airspeed was approximately 85 knots and the airplane stalled. The pilot added engine power; however, the airplane experienced a hard landing on the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed the forward fuselage was buckled and the de-ice fluid tank was empty. No mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane. The pilot stated that he did not check the fluid level in the de-ice tank during the pre-flight inspection.

Contributing factors

  • cause Airspeed — Not attained/maintained
  • cause Pilot

Conditions

Weather
IMC, wind 170/05kt, vis 1sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.