14 Apr 2020: Cessna 402 B — Air Exec Inc

14 Apr 2020: Cessna 402 B (N98649) — Air Exec Inc

No fatalities • Kirksville, MO, United States

Probable cause

A loss of engine power after takeoff for undetermined reasons.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On April 13, 2020, a Cessna 402B, N98649, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Kirksville Municipal Airport (IRK), Kirksville, Missouri. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand cargo flight. The pilot reported that he was taking off and everything appeared normal until shortly after the airplane lifted off, and the pilot established a positive rate of climb and initiated the retraction of the landing gear. He said that as the landing gear retracted there was a substantial loss in engine power that resulted in an inability to maintain a positive rate of climb. He did not recall looking at the engine instruments and could not verify if there was a loss of power in a single engine or both engines. The pilot said he retarded the throttles and landed on the remaining runway without extending the landing gear, resulting in substantial damage to the rear spar caps. He said that he did not feather the propellers. He said he "shut down all systems and exited the plane" after it came to a stop. The pilot stated that the airplane was refueled the day of the accident; he had sumped the fuel system during his preflight inspection and found no contaminants. The fuel capacity was 163 gallons without the locker fuel tanks refueled, which were not used according to the pilot. The operator and pilot both reported that there were 163 gallons of fuel onboard the airplane. The pilot took off with the main fuel tanks selected. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector conducted an examination of the airplane with the assistance of an aircraft mechanic. Both the left and right engine propellers were found in a partially feathered state as the airplane rested on the runway and both fuel selector valves were found in the off position. The fuel selectors had positive detents at each commanded tank position. The right and left fuel selector sump bowls were removed and samples of liquid consistent with aviation fuel was recovered. The samples from both sump bowls contained a small amount of brownish liquid consistent with water. A small amount of liquid consistent with water was also found in a fuel sample from the left auxiliary fuel tank sump. No water was found in the remainder of the fuel system. Compression and continuity of both engines was verified by removing a spark plug from each cylinder and rotating the propeller through the compression stroke while covering the spark plug holes. Each magneto was examined and verified to produce proper spark. Throttle, mixture, and propeller controls were verified to move freely and properly. The fuel line was removed from the fuel spider and the electric fuel pump operation was verified at both the Hi and Low positions for both engines, and the fuel line was reconnected. Engine runs were subsequently completed on both the left and right engines under the supervision of an FAA inspector using a substitute propeller. Both engines were started and ran to full power utilizing the airplane's systems and fuel from the airplane's main fuel tanks, which was the same fuel onboard the airplane at the time of the accident. Both propellers cycled normally during the preflight routine and no anomalies were noted during either engine run. The pilot's operating handbook states "To feather the propeller blades, the propeller control levers on the control pedestal must be placed in the feather position."

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 270/08kt, vis 10sm

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.