Boone County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Harrison, Arkansas 72601
Wednesday, December 4, 2002 17:47 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The single-engine airplane was destroyed following an in-flight breakup during initial climb after takeoff into instrument meteorological conditions. A civil flight following employee observed the airplane depart the airport to the north and a few minutes later the airplane was observed making a right turn back toward the airport. The instrument-rated commercial pilot had 3,456 hours of total flight time, with 1,700 hours in the accident aircraft model. The pilot was very familiar with the route of flight, as this was his daily scheduled flight. The weather at the time of departure was reported as winds from 350 degrees at 4 knots, visibility 2.5 statute miles in light snow and mist, few clouds at 800 feet, broken ceiling at 1,800 feet, and overcast skies at 2,700 feet. There was no convective system reported within 200-mile radius of the airport. The VOR servicing the airport was out of service at the time of the accident; however, the pilot was aware and had received a clearance direct to his destination airport. The airplane was properly equipped for flight into known icing conditions. Additionally, the airplane was equipped with a backup vacuum system as well as a standby alternator system. Witnesses reported that the engine "sounded great" until the pitch of the engine appeared to overspeed followed by two "long scraping sounds." The airplane wreckage came to rest 2.5 miles northeast of the departure airport. The wreckage was found fragmented along the ground for approximately 2,534 feet on a northerly heading. The wing flaps were found in the up position and the landing gear was found in the retracted position. The sequence of the in-flight failure could not be determined. The fractures on both wings exhibited overload signatures. The attitude indicator and directional gyro were examined. Both gyros showed indication of rotation at the time of the impact. All separations of the airframe and flight control system appeared characteristic of overload.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft and the exceedance of the manufactured limits, which resulted in an in flight break-up. Contributing factors were the dark night conditions and the clouds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/4/2002
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1747
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Harrison
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72601
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361619N
Event Location Longitude 0930922W
Event Location Airport Boone County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HRO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport 9
Airport Elevation 1365
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KHRO
Elevation of weather observation facility 1365
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 2.5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
Density Altitude (feet) -651
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18979
NTSB Notification Source FAA, Ft. Worth, TX.
NTSB Notification Date Dec 4 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2006 7:35AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N210CT
NTSB Number FTW03FA057
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 210L
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21060356
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Nov 12 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 55
Airframe Hours 6245
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Flight Express Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3614 East Amelia Street
Aircraft Owner City Orlando
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32803
Operator is an individual? No
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 FPIA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code HRO
Departure City Harrison
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1745
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SGF
Destination City Springfield
Destination State MO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 2 2005 9:27AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --