Cessna 421C Golden Eagle III

Circle Capital Industrial IAC

AirDVM

High Country Aero

Regional Aviation

Private Mexican

While taking off from Houston-William P. Hobby Airport, the airplane suffered a loss of engine power. Control was lost and the airplane veered off runway, crossed a grassy area then impacted a pole, lost its left wing and came to rest in a garden. All four occupants evacuated with minor injuries and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

M. E. Mullaly

On July 13, 2021 about 1042 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 421C, N678SW, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Monterey, California. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Review of recorded communication from the Monterey air traffic control tower revealed that the pilot canceled their initial instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance and requested a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) on top clearance. The controller subsequently issued a VFR-ON-TOP clearance via the Monterey Five departure procedure, which included instructions to turn left after takeoff to join the Salinas very high frequency omni directional range (VOR) 264° radial. The controller issued a clearance for takeoff and shortly after, instructed the pilot to contact the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). Review of recorded communication from the Oakland ARTCC revealed that the pilot established radio communication with the Oakland ARTCC controller as the airplane ascended through 1,700 ft msl. The controller noticed the airplane was turning in the wrong direction and issued an immediate right turn to a heading of 030° which was acknowledged by the pilot. The controller then immediately issued two low altitude alerts with no response from the pilot. No further radio communication with the pilot was received. Recorded Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed that the airplane departed from runway 10R at 1738:44 and ascended to 1,075 ft msl before a right turn was initiated. The data showed that at 1740:14, the airplane continued to ascend in a right turn and reached an altitude of 2,000 ft msl before a descent began. The data showed that the airplane continued descending right turn until ADS-B contact was lost at 1740:38, at an altitude of 775 ft, about 520 ft southwest of the accident site. A witness located near the accident site reported that he observed the accident airplane descend below the cloud layer in a nose low attitude with the landing gear retracted. The witness stated that the airplane made a right descending turn and impacted the top of a pine tree before it traveled below the tree line, followed by the sound of an explosion. The preliminary weather for the MRY airport reported that at 1054 PDT, winds from 280° at 7 knots, visibility of 9 statute miles, ceiling overcast at 800 feet agl, temperature of 15°C and dew point temperature of 11°C, altimeter setting of 29.99 inches of mercury, remarks included: station with a precipitation discriminator. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted trees about 1 mile south of the departure end of runway 10R. The first identifiable point of contact (FIPC) was a 50 to 75 ft tall tree that had damaged limbs near the top of the tree. The debris path was oriented on a heading of about 067° and was about 995 ft in length from the FIPC, as seen in figure 2. The main wreckage was located about 405 ft from the FIPC. Various portions of aluminum wing skin, right wing, flap, aileron, engine, propeller blades, and propeller hub were observed throughout the debris path. Additionally, several trees were damaged throughout the debris path. The fuselage came to rest upright against a residential structure on a heading of about 045° magnetic at an elevation of 447 ft msl. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

Private American

On July 10, 2021, about 0920 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 412C airplane, N66NC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Longmont, Colorado. The pilot and three passengers received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. After the airplane lifted off from the runway, the pilot didn’t feel that the engine(s) were making full power. The airplane settled back onto the runway, then exited off the departure end of the runway. The airplane came to rest upright, and a small post-crash fire developed. Substantial damage was noted to the airplane’s fuselage and wings.

Charles S. Azzopardi

The pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight with one passenger in his twin-engine airplane. There was no record that the pilot received a weather briefing before the accident flight. While en route to the destination, the pilot was in contact with air traffic control and received visual flight rules flightfollowing services. About 18 miles from the destination airport, the radar service was terminated, as is typical in this geographic region due to insufficient radio and radar coverage below 7,000 ft. The airplane was heading northeast at 4,900 ft mean sea level (msl) (about 2,200 ft above ground level [agl]). About 4 minutes later, radar coverage resumed, and the airplane was 6 miles west of the airport at 4,100 ft msl (1,400 ft agl) and climbing to the north. The airplane climbed through 6,000 ft msl (3,300 ft agl), then began a shallow left turn and climbed to 6,600 ft msl (3,800 ft agl), then began to descend while continuing the shallow left turn ; the last radar data point showed the airplane was about 20 nm northwest of the airport, 5,100 ft msl (2,350 ft agl) on a southwest heading. The final recorded data was about 13 miles northwest of the accident site. A witness near the destination airport heard the pilot on the radio. He reported that the pilot asked about the cloud height and the witness responded that the clouds were 800 to 1,000 ft agl. In his final radio call, the pilot told the witness, "Ok, see you in a little bit." The witness did not see the airplane in the air. The airplane impacted terrain in a slightly nose-low and wings-level attitude with no evidence of forward movement, and a postimpact fire destroyed a majority of the wreckage. The damage to the airplane was consistent with a relatively flat spin to the left at the time of impact. A postaccident examination did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. A detailed examination of the cockpit instruments and other portions of the wreckage was not possible due to the fire damage. A cold front had advanced from the northeast and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed across the region surrounding the accident site and the destination airport; the cloud ceilings were 400 ft to 900 ft above ground level. The airplane likely experienced wind shear below 3,000 ft, and there was likely icing in the clouds. While moderate icing conditions were forecast for the accident site, about the time of the accident, investigators were unable to determine the amount and severity of icing the flight may have experienced. The weather conditions had deteriorated over the previous 1 to 2 hours. The conditions at the destination airport had been clear about 2 hours before accident, and visual flight rules conditions about 1 hour before accident, when the pilot departed. Based on the available evidence it is likely that the pilot was unable to maintain control of the airplane, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin into terrain.