Cessna 421 accident near Akron, CO
On December 25, 2002, a Cessna 421 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Akron, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 25, 2002
- Place
- Akron, CO
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.183°N, 103.239°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030103X00007
Official records · DEN03FA025
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 25, 2002, at 1006 mountain standard time, a Cessna 421, N421D, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain 1/8 mile west of the Akron/Washington County Airport (AKO), Akron, Colorado. A post crash fire ensued. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan from Englewood, Colorado, to Mitchell, South Dakota, under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and passenger on board sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated at 0933. At 0959, the pilot reported to the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDV) that his left engine had an oil leak and requested to land at the nearest airport. ZDV informed the pilot that AKO was the closest airport and subsequently cleared the pilot direct to AKO. At 1001, the pilot reported having the airport in sight. ZDV radar showed the airplane in a 3,000 foot per minute descent passing through 17,000 feet mean sea level. At 1003, ZDV terminated radar service, told the pilot to change to the advisory frequency, and reminded him to close his flight plan. At approximately 1004, ZDV radar lost contact with the airplane. When contact was lost, the airplane was approximately 3.5 miles southwest of the Akron VOR and 5 miles south of the airport. At 1016, ZDV contacted Denver Flight Service to ensure the airplane had landed at AKO and the pilot had closed his flight plan. Flight Service said they had not heard from the pilot, but would look into it. At 1023, Flight Ser
Probable cause
The fractured connecting rods and the pilot not maintaining aircraft control following the engine failure. Factors contributing to the accident were the low altitude, the pilot not maintaining minimum controllable airspeed following the engine failure, the pilot's inability to feather the propeller following the engine failure, oil exhaustion, the seized pistons, and the repair station's improper
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Browse: Colorado · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
