Cessna 441 accident near Vestavia Hills, AL
On December 10, 2003, a Cessna 441 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Vestavia Hills, AL. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 10, 2003
- Place
- Vestavia Hills, AL
- Aircraft
- Cessna 441 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.416°N, 86.807°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031217X02053
Official records · ATL04FA049
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 10, 2003, at 1420 central standard time, a Cessna 441, N441W, registered to and operated by Warrington Development Corp., descended in a spin and collided into a creek ravine in a residential area in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with an instrument flight rules (IFR) plan filed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at flight altitude. The airline transport pilot and the passenger received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight departed Birmingham, Alabama, at 1412 on December 10, 2003. According to a witness, the pilot arrived at the airport around 0900 and "stayed on the computers all morning" checking the weather. The witness stated the pilot also spoke with arriving pilots about the weather they encountered on approach to the airport. According to records from the Anniston Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), the pilot telephoned at 1142 and obtained a weather briefing for a flight from Birmingham, Alabama, to Venice, Florida, and telephoned again minutes later to file an IFR plan for the flight. According to air traffic control records, the flight was cleared for takeoff from runway 24 at 1412 and was cleared to climb on runway heading to an altitude of 5,000 feet. The flight departed, and the pilot contacted the departure controller at 1416 and reported the flight was level at 5,000 feet. The controller cleared the flight to climb to 10,000 feet and turn to proceed on course. A review of radar data revealed the flight initiated a climbing left
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during climb in icing conditions, which resulted in an inadvertent stall / spin of the airplane and subsequent uncontrolled descent and collision with terrain. A factor was the accumulation of airframe ice.
More accidents in AL
- Beech C99, Jul 10, 1991
- Cessna 421A, Jun 22, 1983
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Browse: Alabama · 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.
