Cessna 421C accident near Demopolis, AL

On July 9, 2011, a Cessna 421C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Demopolis, AL. 7 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

July 9, 2011

Place

Demopolis, AL

Aircraft

Cessna 421C · Airplane

Injuries

7 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

32.480°N, 87.948°W

NTSB ID

20110710X31135

Official records · ERA11FA391

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• FAA Air Traffic Control Summary: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 9, 2011, about 1740 central daylight time, a Cessna 421C, N629TT, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while on approach to the Demopolis Municipal Airport (DYA), Demopolis, Alabama. The certificated private pilot and six passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight that departed the Creve Coeur Airport (1H0), St. Louis, Missouri, destined for the Destin-Ft. Walton Beach Airport (DTS), Destin, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane was based at DTS, and owned by the pilot through a limited liability company. According to the pilot’s father-in-law, the pilot, his wife, and five children, ages 10, 9, 6, 4, and 2, flew from DTS to the Pickens County Airport (JZP), Jasper, Georgia, on July 3, 2011. On July 5, 2011, they flew from JPZ to 1H0 uneventfully, to attend a family reunion, where the airplane remained parked until the accident flight. The pilot and his family departed 1H0 about 1520, on the day of the accident. According to information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot was in cruise flight at flight level 210 (21,000 feet), and in contact with the Atlanta air route traffic control center when he declared an emergency due to a rough running engine, about 1725. He diverted to DYA, which was located 12 o'clock and about 10 miles from the airplane's position. The pilot was switched to M

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during a single-engine approach and his failure to fly an appropriate traffic pattern for a single-engine landing. Contributing to the accident was a total loss of engine power on the right engine due to a fatigue failure of the right engine cam gear.

More accidents in AL

• Beech C99, Jul 10, 1991
• Cessna 421A, Jun 22, 1983
• Piper PA 31, Aug 14, 2016
• Beech 95-B55B, Dec 5, 1992
• Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600, Sep 13, 1985

Browse: Alabama · Cessna aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.