Cessna 414 accident near Rocksprings, TX
On February 9, 2007, a Cessna 414 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Rocksprings, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 9, 2007
- Place
- Rocksprings, TX
- Aircraft
- Cessna 414 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 30.010°N, 100.209°W
- NTSB ID
- 20070212X00170
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 9, 2007, about 1715 central standard time, a twin-engine Cessna 414 airplane, N69845, was destroyed upon collision with terrain while circling to land during an instrument approach to the Edwards County Airport (ECU), near Rocksprings, Texas. The commercial pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by Drilling Structures International, Inc., of Rocksprings, Texas. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the 240-mile cross-country flight that originated from the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) near Houston, Texas, at 1544. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed for the business flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. A review of the radar data revealed the airplane departed the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport and continued towards Edwards County Airport. The en-route portion of the flight was routine. After the airplane executed the instrument approach to Runway 14, at approximately 2,800 feet mean sea level (msl), the airplane was observed initiating a circling approach by establishing a turn to the left and a slight descent. The last radar hit showed the airplane at 2,600 feet msl (field elevation was 2,368 feet) at a groundspeed of 186 knots. Two witnesses located near the accident site reported observing the mishap. The first witness, who was driving on Highway 55 near ECU, reported that she observed an airplane on approach to landing. The witness stated that "the airplane started to circle [the airport] and then headed straight down."
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain. Contributing factors were the below approach/landing minimums weather and the drizzle/mist weather conditions.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
Browse: Texas · 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.
