What happened
During the takeoff phase, an aircraft experienced a sudden rightward yaw while the landing gear was in the process of retracting. This maneuver resulted in a collision with the ground. Following the impact, the fuel tank located in the right wing ruptured, leading to a fire that burned as the wreckage slid to a halt. All occupants managed to evacuate the aircraft safely.
The incident followed maintenance activities performed the previous day, which included washing the airframe and polishing the thrust reverser doors. During this service, the circuit breakers for the reverser doors were pulled. While it was standard company practice to leave these breakers in the 'out' position after servicing, they had not been reset for the flight. Before departure, after loading and engine start, the pilot noted that the reversed unlock lights on both annunciator panels were illuminated. After consulting with the co-pilot, the pilot decided to proceed with the flight. To address the warning, the pilot physically pushed the light assemblies, which unlatched the housings and extinguished the 'unlock' indications.
Findings
Investigations revealed that both thrust reverser doors had deployed inadvertently during the climb. Investigators from Cessna Aircraft found that the two circuit breakers for the thrust reversers were still in the open position and were partially obscured by a flight chart. The investigation concluded that inadequate maintenance procedures and an insufficient preflight inspection contributed to the accident. Specifically, the pilot elected to operate the aircraft despite known equipment deficiencies and failed to follow proper checklists, including the manual disabling of the warning lights.