Cessna 560XL incident near Traverse City, Michigan, March 26, 2014
On March 26, 2014 at about 7:21 pm local time, a 2007 Cessna 560XL, registered N580QS, was involved in an incident during landing (landing roll) near Traverse City, Michigan (Cherry Capital airport). It was flown under fractional-ownership rules (Part 91 subpart K). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inoperative galley drain tube heater, which allowed water within the tube to freeze and led to its failure; the tube’s failure allowed water to drain onto the rudder cables and freeze and resulted in the rudder binding during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 26, 2014 · about 7:21 pm local time
- Place
- Traverse City, Michigan · Cherry Capital · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 560XL, built 2007 · all 560XLs on the register
- Registration
- N580QS · registry record · serial 560-5741
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · fractional-ownership rules (Part 91 subpart K)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight was conducted at flight level 400, and the entire flight was 3 hours 17 minutes long. During the landing at the destination airport, the flying pilot noted that the rudder pedals were hard or frozen; however, he was able to make an uneventful landing. The nonflying pilot then took the flight controls and confirmed the rudder pedal situation. Once slowed to a safe speed, the flight crew was able to break the rudder pedals free and to taxi the airplane to the ramp. After the airplane was parked and shut down, the rudder still felt stiff and required more input than normal to operate. Postaccident examinations confirmed compliance with an alert service letter and service bulletin related to control cable icing. Examinations also revealed witness mark consistent with a water line in the fuselage area, and a liquid consistent with pooled deice fluid, staining, and moisture was found in the tailcone compartment. Water was also found where the galley drain exits the pressure vessel and enters the fairing area. Water was observed draining from the black foam wrap around the drain tube's heating element, and the black foam exhibited deformation consistent with the expansion of frozen water. Removal of the foam revealed an opening in the drain tube. Testing of the galley drain heating element revealed that it was inoperative. Black foam deposits were observed on a rudder cable, but no rudder system anomalies were detected. Laboratory tests revealed that an opening in the drain tube caused the rudder cables to freeze to the drain mast, and some additional force above a baseline was needed to break the simulated rudder pedals free from a static position. At the time of the incident, the airplane's approved inspection program did not specify that the galley drain tube or heater should be inspected. Additionally, the failure of the galley drain heater is not annunciated to the flight crew nor to maintenance personnel. It is likely that the undetected failure of the galley drain tube heater allowed the water within the galley drain tube to freeze, which led to the tube's failure. Once the tube failed, water was allowed to drain from the tube onto the rudder cables; this water also froze due to the inoperative heater and caused the rudder to bind during 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
What happened, in order
- Flight control sys malf/fail during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Water and waste system › Water/waste sys wiring › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Flight control system › Rudder control system › Inoperative
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,658 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,796 in this make and model
- Last flight review: November 8, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,183 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 1, 2014
- Maximum gross weight: 20,400 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: P&W Canada PW545B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: P&W Canada PW545B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Netjets Sales INC
The flight
- Departed from: SRQ Sarasota/Bradenton FL at 4:10 pm
- Destination: TVC Traverse City MI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28, 6,901 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,200 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from KTVC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 | |||
| 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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 CEN14IA172.