Cessna 401 accident near Cheswold, Delaware, September 15, 1985
On September 15, 1985 at about 11:20 am local time, a Cessna 401, registered N3298Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cheswold, Delaware (Delaware Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 15, 1985 · about 11:20 am local time
- Place
- Cheswold, Delaware · Delaware Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401 · all 401s on the register
- Registration
- N3298Q · no longer on the register · serial 401-0098
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER LANDING ON RUNWAY 27, THE PILOT SLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH. THE AIRCRAFT HAD ROLLED OUT ABOUT 1000 FEET WHEN THE GEAR HORN SOUNDED AND ALL THREE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THE PILOT REACHED FOR THE GEAR SWITCH, WHICH WAS IN THE UP POSITION, BUT THE GEAR COMPLETED ITS RETRACTION AND THE AIRCRAFT SKIDDED ALONG THE RUNWAY APPROXIMATELY 127 FEET. TESTING OF THE SQUAT SWITCH, ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, REVEALED THAT THE SWITCH HAD FAILED.
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,550 hours in all; 725 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 2,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,800 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO520 E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aero Quest Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: INT Winston-Salem NC at 9:30 am
- Destination: 33N Dover DE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 3,484 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 1 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 am from DOV, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N3298Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.