On March 15, 2012, a CESSNA 501 (registration N7700T) operated by JAKUBOWSKI BOGDAN was involved in an aviation accident near Franklin, NC. 5 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to achieve a stabilized approach, resulting in a nose-first, bounced landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's activation of only one thrust reverser, resulting in asymmetrical thrust. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A Cessna 501, N7700T, was substantially damaged during a landing at Macon County Airport, Franklin, NC, on March 15, 2012. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured in a postcrash fire.
Accident Overview and Flight History On March 15, 2012, at approximately 1350 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 501, registration N7700T, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged while landing at Macon County Airport (1A5) in Franklin, North Carolina. The flight, conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, departed from Venice Municipal Airport (VNC) in Venice, Florida, at about 1150. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured in the accident. Radar and communication data indicated that at 1340, the aircraft was at 7,300 feet when an Atlanta Center controller approved a frequency change to the local airport common traffic advisory frequency. The pilot acknowledged the change, and no further communication was received by Atlanta Center. Witnesses at the airport's fixed-based-operator (FBO) reported that the aircraft approached runway 25, a 5,001-foot long, 75-foot-wide asphalt runway, from a high position. After performing a go-around and making a left turn for another approach, the aircraft was again high, and the approach angle steepened with the nose down. The nosegear touched down approximately halfway down the runway, followed by the main gear. The aircraft bounced, and witnesses heard the engine noise increase. It then banked right, and the right wing contacted the ground. The aircraft flipped over off the right side of the runway, and a postcrash fire ensued. The airport, located at 2,020 feet above mean sea level and surrounded by mountains, had no record of the aircraft having previously been there. ## Personnel and Aircraft Information The pilot, age 62, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land, and instrument airplane, as well as a type rating for the Cessna 501. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on December 20, 2010. The pilot had approximately 1,159 total flight hours, including about 185 hours in the accident aircraft over the preceding two years. He had flown the aircraft about 8 hours in the 30 days and 16 hours in the 90 days before the accident. The pilot had been involved in a prior accident on March 12, 2006, in which he was the pilot-in-command of a Piper PA32-301 that departed the side of a runway while landing. The probable cause of that accident was the failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during the landing roll with a crosswind, resulting in collapse of the nose landing gear. The seven-seat Cessna 501, serial number 501-0248, was manufactured in 1982 and powered by two Pratt and Whitney Canada JT15D-1B engines, each capable of generating 2,200 pounds of thrust. The aircraft was maintained under a manufacturer's approved inspection program, with its most recent phase inspections completed on February 20, 2012, at which time the airframe and engines had accrued 4,825.2 total hours of operation. The aircraft was equipped with thrust reversers that could only be deployed when the primary throttle levers were in the idle thrust position and the aircraft was on the ground, as sensed by either of the main gear squat switches. ## Meteorological and Wreckage Information The recorded weather at Macon County Airport at 1350 was: wind from 260 degrees at 3 knots; sky clear; visibility 10 miles; temperature 23 degrees C; dew point 7 degrees C; altimeter 30.28 inches of mercury. The aircraft came to rest in a grassy area about 50 feet off the right side of the runway, approximately 4,250 feet beyond the approach end of runway 25. The wreckage was inverted and oriented about a magnetic heading of 350 degrees. Skid marks consistent with the main landing gear tires were observed. A postcrash fire consumed a majority of the cockpit and cabin. The landing gear and flaps were found in the fully extended position. The right engine thrust-reverser was found in the deployed position, with penetration damage on the cowling underneath, consistent with the reverser being deployed during the impact sequence. The left engine thrust-reverser was in the stowed position. The right throttle lever was in the aft position, near the flight idle stop, with its thrust reverser lever in the deploy position. The left throttle lever was in a mid-range position with its thrust reverser lever in the stow position. Teardown examination of both engines revealed that their respective low pressure compressor fan blade tips were bent opposite the direction of rotation, and sand was noted on the high pressure turbine blades, consistent with the engines operating at the time of impact. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were found that would have precluded normal engine operation. ## Medical and Pathological Information An autopsy was performed on the pilot by the Macon County Medical Examiner in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on March 16, 2012. Toxicological testing by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed pravastatin detected in urine, glucose detected in vitreous and urine, and hemoglobin A1C detected in blood. ## Additional Information Performance data for the aircraft indicated that at an estimated landing weight of 9,500 pounds, the aircraft required a landing distance of approximately 2,180 feet on a dry runway, without wind factored. This distance assumed a landing reference speed (Vref) of 99 knots, a temperature of 25 degrees C, and no use of thrust reversers.