Clinton County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Thursday, March 16, 2000 21:06 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

All passengers except one had disembarked from the airplane. As the last passenger approached the first step of the airstairs, he 'lost his balance,' and reached for the right side guide cable. The top anchor bracket of the guide cable became disconnected and the passenger fell down the stairs, striking the pavement with his right side. The anchor bracket was manufactured from an aluminum casting. Five months after the accident, a service bulletin was issued which addressed replacement of the upper anchor brackets for the airstair door forward and aft handrail cables. The replacement was required due to reports of separations of the upper anchor brackets. The bulletin also stated, 'Separation of these handrail cable upper anchor brackets can result in the airstair door becoming unstable in addition to loss of handrail support for crew, maintenance personnel or passengers when using the handrail.' The new upper anchor bracket was an improved design machined from steel alloy.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the upper anchor bracket for the airstair door.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/16/2000
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2106
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City PLATTSBURGH
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12901
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport CLINTON COUNTY AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PLB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 371
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2103 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID PLB
Elevation of weather observation facility 371
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 900
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) 1.5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 0
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 6
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 705
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 18 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record May 10 2001 4:07AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N858CA
NTSB Number NYC00LA206
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beechcraft
Aircraft Model 1900D
Aircraft Series Identifier 1900D
Aircraft Serial Number UE-72
Certified Max Gross Weight 16950
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 11
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CHAMPLAIN ENTERPRISES INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 518 ROGER ST
Aircraft Owner City PLATTSBURGH
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 12901
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code JJBS
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
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 Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BTU
Departure City BURLINGTON
Departure State VT
Departure Country
Departure Time 2045
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PLB
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Standing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 10 2001 4:07AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --