Cessna 421B accident near Wheeling, Illinois, January 31, 2006
On January 31, 2006, a Cessna 421B, registered N920MC, was destroyed in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois (Palwaukee Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the landing approach which led to an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent and impact with the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 2006
- Place
- Wheeling, Illinois · Palwaukee Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · all 421Bs on the register
- Registration
- N920MC · no longer on the register · serial 421B0884
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was destroyed and the occupants fatally injured when it impacted the ground during approach to landing. Examination of the airplane, its engines and propellers, revealed no anomalies that were determined to have existed prior to impact. The propellers were found to have been in their normal operating range and neither propeller was in a feathered position. The quill shafts of both engines showed evidence of damage due to the production of torque. A sound spectrum examination of audio transmissions showed signatures that both engines were operating during the last two radio transmissions from the airplane. Based on radar data, communications and meteorological information obtained during the investigation, the airplane was operating in visual meteorological conditions below an overcast layer of clouds. The radar data showed the airplane as it approached the airport and as it entered a left hand traffic pattern for runway 34. Radio communications confirmed that the airplane had been cleared for a left hand traffic pattern to runway 34. The radar data showed the airplane as it made a turn to the left while its speed decreased to about 82 knots calibrated airspeed as of the last received radar return. This radar return was about 0.1 nautical miles from the accident site and 0.8 nautical miles and 216 degrees from the approach end of runway 34. The airplane owner's manual listed stall speeds ranging from 81 to 94 knots calibrated airspeed for airplane configurations including gear and flaps up to gear down and flaps 15 degrees, and bank angles from 0 to 40 degrees. Flap position could not be determined because the flap chain had separated from the flap drive motor. The owner's manual also listed an approach speed of 103 knots.
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: 1,284 hours in all; 33 in this make and model
- Last flight review: October 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Other crew
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,437 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-H (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: OJC Olathe KS at 11:10 pm
- Destination: PWK Wheeling IL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 34, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 310° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,100 ft; clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.81 inHg
- Observation at 6:36 pm from PWK, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.