Cessna 421C accident near Wells, TX
On November 27, 2012, a Cessna 421C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Wells, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- November 27, 2012
- Place
- Wells, TX
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 31.471°N, 94.941°W
- NTSB ID
- 20121127X24828
Official records · CEN13FA073
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC summary and transcripts of voice communications.: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 26, 2012, about 2124 central standard time, a Cessna 421C airplane, N67SR, was substantially damaged during an in-flight encounter with weather, in-flight separation of airframe components, and subsequent impact with the ground near Wells, Texas. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane sustained impact and fire damage to all major airframe components. The aircraft was registered to H-S Air LP and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The flight originated from the West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, about 2040 and was bound for the Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport (RVS), Tulsa, Oklahoma. Witnesses near the accident site reported hearing an explosion and then seeing a fireball descending through the clouds to the ground. Radar track data for the last portion of the flight depicted the airplane on a 7720 transponder code. The track showed the airplane initially on a heading of about 20 degrees at 23,000 feet. The track continued in this direction until 2120:03.73 when the airplane began a right turn. The right turn continued for about 30 seconds during which time the altitude remained constant and the heading changed to about 90 degrees. After 2120:45.86, the track showed an erratic steep descent that continued to the end of the data. The final data location was received at 2122:15.53 at an altitude of 2,800
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue the flight into an area of extreme weather, which led to the in-flight encounter with a thunderstorm and structural failure of the wings and tail.
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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.
