Cessna 421B accident near Alpine, TX
On July 4, 2010, a Cessna 421B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Alpine, TX. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 4, 2010
- Place
- Alpine, TX
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 30.401°N, 103.666°W
- NTSB ID
- 20100704X15412
Official records · CEN10MA367
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 4, 2010, approximately 0015 central daylight time, a Cessna 421B, twin-engine airplane, N31AS, operated by O'Hara Flying Service, and doing business as Air Ambulance Stat, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain 1.3 miles nautical miles (nm) northeast of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (KE38), Alpine, Texas. A post crash fire ensued. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The emergency medical services flight was being operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. The airline transport pilot, two flight nurses, a patient, and a passenger were fatally injured. The cross-country flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Odessa-Schlemeyer Field Airport (KODO), Odessa, Texas. The Alpine Police Department took witness statements from four individuals. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Investigator in Charge (IIC) interviewed three witnesses. Two witnesses were located to the north and two witnesses were located to the south of the impact location. According to these witnesses, the airplane was flying low to the ground from west to east, as if it had just departed KE38. The witnesses added that the airplane lights were on and noted that nothing appeared to be abnormal other than the low altitude. One witness remarked that the airplane appeared to descend and then observed a fireball shortly thereafter. All witnesses interviewed remarked that it was very dark, with overcast skies at
Probable cause
The degraded performance of the airplane due to the pilot not properly setting the flaps and retracting the landing gear after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue.
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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.
