Cessna 402C accident near Atlanta, Georgia, September 11, 1987
On September 11, 1987 at about 11:27 am local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N4630N, suffered minor damage in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 11, 1987 · about 11:27 am local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N4630N · registry record · serial 402C0001
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CLIMB TO CRUISE AT ABOUT 4,000 FT MSL, THE PLT HEARD A 'WHISTLING' NOISE AND NOTICED THAT THE CREW DOOR ADJACENT TO HIS SEAT WAS NOT COMPLETELY SECURED. THE DOOR CAME OPEN AS HE ATTEMPTED TO PROPERLY SECURE IT, AND YANKED HIS LEFT ARM OUTSIDE THE ACFT. HIS ARM WAS SUBSEQUENTLY BROKEN AS THE AIRSTREAM FORCED IT BACKWARDS AGAINST THE DOOR FRAME. HE ADVISED ATC OF HIS SITUATION AND RECEIVED VECTORS BACK TO HIS DEPARTURE POINT, WHERE HE MADE A SUCCESSFUL LANDING.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,320 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 2,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,803 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 27, 1988
- Maximum gross weight: 6,350 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bankair,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 11:15 am
- Destination: CHA Charleston SC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL87FA255.