Cessna 421C accident near Wheeling, Illinois, August 5, 2005
On August 5, 2005 at about 5:25 pm local time, a Cessna 421C, registered N421KC, was destroyed in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois (Palwaukee Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper in-flight decision to execute a go-around without raising the landing gear and raising the flaps to the full UP position, resulting in low airspeed and the airplane stalling. Contributing factors to the accident included the pilot's failure to comply with the manufacturer's mandatory service bulletin and the failure of the starter adapter shaft gear which resulted in the loss of power to the left engine, and the collision with the building.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 5, 2005 · about 5:25 pm local time
- Place
- Wheeling, Illinois · Palwaukee Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421C · all 421Cs on the register
- Registration
- N421KC · no longer on the register · serial 421C-0028
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The twin-engine airplane sustained substantial damage when it impacted the top of a single-story industrial building and then impacted a landscape embankment and trees during an attempted single-engine go-around. The pilot reported that the left engine failed during initial climb. He feathered the left propeller and returned to the airport to execute an emergency landing. The pilot reported that he had "excessive speed" on final approach and "overshot the runway." When the airplane was at mid-field, the pilot elected to do a go-around. He did not raise the landing gear and the flaps remained about 15-degrees down. The airplane lost altitude and impacted the terrain about .5 miles from the airport. A witness reported seeing the airplane attempt to land on the runway twice during the same approach, but ballooned both times before executing the go-around. The Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) "Rate-of-Climb One Engine Inoperative" chart indicated that about a 450-foot rate-of-climb was possible during the single-engine go-around if the airplane was in a clean configuration. The chart also indicated that a 350-foot penalty would be subtracted from the rate-of-climb if the landing gear were in the DOWN position, and additionally, a 200-foot penalty would be subtracted from the rate-of-climb if the flaps were in the 15-degree DOWN position. Inspection of the left engine revealed that the starter adapter shaft gear had failed. Inspection of the engine maintenance logbooks revealed that the Teledyne Continental Motors Service Bulletin CSB94-4, and subsequent revisions including the Mandatory Service Bulletin MSB94-4F, issued on July 5, 2005, had not been complied with since the last engine overhaul on July 17, 1998. The service bulletin required a visual inspection of the starter adapter every 400 hours. The engine logbook indicated that the engine had accumulated about 1,270 hours since the last overhaul. The service bulletin contained a WARNING that stated, "Compliance with this bulletin is required to prevent possible failure of the starter adapter shaft gear and/or crankshaft gear which can result in metal contamination and/or engine failure."
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 728 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 15 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,835 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2005; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PWK Wheeling IL at 5:20 pm
- Destination: MCD Mackinac Island MI
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 34, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.23 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from PWK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.
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.