Cessna 401B accident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 9, 1986
On February 9, 1986 at about 4:05 am local time, a Cessna 401B, registered N777CS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Mitchell Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- February 9, 1986 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin · Mitchell Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401B · all 401Bs on the register
- Registration
- N777CS · registry record · serial 401-0152
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE TAXIING TO PARK, THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED.INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE LEFT HAND GEAR SUPPORT HAD TORN FROM THE WING RIB TO WHICH IT WAS BOLTED. ON THE FAA MALFUNCTION OR DEFECT REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE OPERATOR, COMPANY OFFICIALS STATED THAT IT APPEARED THAT THE GEAR HAD A HEAVY SIDE LOAD PLACED UPON IT AT SOME UNKNOWN TIME. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE LANDING PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT WAS NORMAL.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,728 hours in all; 66 in this make and model; 209 in the last 90 days; 1,614 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,469 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 23, 1986; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Midwest Aviation CORP.
The flight
- Departed from: GRB Green Bay WI at 3:05 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 310° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N777CS 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.