Crystal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Crystal, Minnesota 55440
Wednesday, January 22, 1997 13:26 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After landing at the airport, the airplane was taxied to a fixed base operator to pick up a passenger. Rime ice, as thick as two inches was seen on the airplane, and the pilots of the airplane attempted to manually remove the ice. The airplane was topped off with fuel before departure. During departure from runway 31R, the airplane collided with a fence. Numerous areas of ice were found on the airplane following the accident. Both propellers had similar damage. The pilots had reported to the FAA that the left engine had sustained a loss of power. The passenger reported that he did not notice any loss of power from either engine. No preimpact part failure or malfunction of the left engine was found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot-in-command to ensure adequate removal of airframe ice from the aircraft during preflight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/22/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1326
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City CRYSTAL
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55440
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CRYSTAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MIC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport 310
Airport Elevation 869
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1328 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID MIC
Elevation of weather observation facility 869
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 2.75
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 37
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 22 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2146
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:05PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5AS
NTSB Number CHI97FA059
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 401
Aircraft Series Identifier 401
Aircraft Serial Number 401-0208
Certified Max Gross Weight 6300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name THOMAS A CASPER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6265 FAIRWOOD DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City DEARBORN HEIGHT
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48127
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name AIR-ONE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MIC
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1324
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LAN
Destination City LANSING
Destination State MI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31R
Runway Length 3263
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --