FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

Regional Express Cessna C-402B accident

16 Nov 1991 · Boise, ID, United States

Cessna C-402B · Accident: total loss of engine power (mechanical failure) during initial climb

From Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field (BOI) to Pocatello Regional Airport (PIH)

Show on map Search Wikipedia NTSB source dataset
Report a problem

Event

NTSB case
SEA92FA019
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
2 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Charter & commuter
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Cessna C-402B

Aircraft type
Cessna C-402
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N29517
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field (BOI), Boise, IDTo Pocatello Regional Airport (PIH), Pocatello, ID
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Initial climb
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Total loss of engine power (mechanical failure)
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • 1 engine
  • Company maintenance personnel › Maintenance, adjustment, improper
  • Company maintenance personnel › Maintenance, inspection, inadequate
  • Pilot in command › Airspeed(vyse), not maintained
  • Pilot in command › Gear down and locked, improper
  • Pilot in command › Maneuver, improper
  • Pilot in command › Propeller feathering, not performed

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE PILOT ANNOUNCED HE HAD AN ENGINE FAILURE DURING INITIAL CLIMB AT 300-400 FT AGL AFTER TAKEOFF ON A VFR NIGHT CARGO FLT. THE TOWER CONTROLLER CLEARED THE FLT TO RETURN TO THE ARPT AND LAND ON ANY RWY. THE ACFT ENTERED A RIGHT DESCENDING TURN, IMPACTED THE GND ONE MILE FROM THE ARPT, AND IGNITED IN FLAMES. EVIDENCE INDICATED THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS NOT OPERATING AT IMPACT. THE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN AND THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS IN THE HIGH PITCH POSITION. EXAM OF THE RIGHT ENGINE REVEALED BLOCKED FUEL INJECTORS, INCORRECT SIZE FUEL INJECTORS, FUEL PUMP OUT OF ADJUSTMENT, AND BURNED/PITTED BREAKER POINTS IN A MAGNETO.

Probable cause

THE LOSS OF POWER ON THE RIGHT ENGINE DURING INITIAL CLIMB AFTER TAKEOFF DUE TO INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE INSPECTION AND ADJUSTMENT OF THE ENGINE BY COMPANY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, AND THE LOSS OF CONTROL BY THE PILOT DUE TO HIS FAILURE TO PROPERLY CONFIGURE THE AIRCRAFT AND PERFORM A PROPER SINGLE ENGINE CLIMB MANEUVER, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SINGLE ENGINE CLIMB AIRSPEED. A FACTOR RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE DARK NIGHT LIGHT CONDITIONS.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record SEA92FA019
Event ID
20001212X18522
Case number
SEA92FA019
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: e2f2ca9a7ac91a1eab7f18d6485c6369ea2724a19479051069201c9bdc802968; retrieved 2026-09-18T14:01:40.387Z.