Cessna 421C accident near Las Cruces, NM
On August 28, 2014, a Cessna 421C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Las Cruces, NM. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 28, 2014
- Place
- Las Cruces, NM
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.256°N, 106.982°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140827X25654
Official records · CEN14FA462
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 27, 2014, about 1903 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 421C airplane, N51RX, impacted terrain during initial climb near Las Cruces International Airport (LRU), Las Cruces, New Mexico. The pilot, two medical crewmembers, and one patient were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Elite Medical Air Transport, LLC, El Paso, Texas, and was operated by Amigos Aviation, Inc., Harlingen, Texas, as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 air ambulance flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident at the accident site, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. The airplane departed LRU destined for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona. The airplane arrived at LRU about 1822 to load the patient for a flight to PHX. According to the line service technician who worked for the fixed-base operator (FBO), both engines were shut down and the pilot was still seated in the cockpit when he asked the technician to add 40 gallons of fuel to the airplane; the pilot did not specify the type of fuel. The line service technician drove a fuel truck to the front of the airplane and then added 20 gallons of fuel to each wing tank. The pilot then helped the line service technician replace both fuel caps. The line service technician then printed the fuel ticket, which the pilot signed. At 1901:45, shortly after departure, a medical crewmember onboard the airplane called the company medical dispatcher and reported that the flight was returning to LRU because s
Probable cause
The misfueling of the airplane with jet fuel instead of the required aviation fuel, and the resultant detonation and a total loss of engine power during initial climb. Contributing to the accident were the line service technician's inadvertent misfueling of the airplane, the pilot's inadequate supervision of the fuel servicing, and the fixed-base operator's use of a small fuel nozzle on its jet fu
More accidents in NM
- Gates Learjet 25D, Sep 5, 1993
- Piper PA-32-300, Dec 26, 1982
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-30, Jun 25, 1992
- Cessna 421C, Feb 11, 1985
- Beech 58, Mar 26, 1982
Browse: New Mexico · 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.
