Cessna 402A accident near Mosinee, Wisconsin, January 17, 1990
On January 17, 1990 at about 4:45 am local time, a Cessna 402A, registered N4532Q, was destroyed in an accident near Mosinee, Wisconsin (Central Wisconsin airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT DISREGARDING THE PUBLISHED DECISION HEIGHT AND NOT PERFORMING A MISSED APPROACH.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 17, 1990 · about 4:45 am local time
- Place
- Mosinee, Wisconsin · Central Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402A · all 402As on the register
- Registration
- N4532Q · no longer on the register · serial 402A0032
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ON-DEMAND AIR TAXI AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AND TERRAIN DURING A THIRD ATTEMPT AT AN ILS APPROACH. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED APPROXIMATELY TWO MILES BEYOND THE AIRPORT ON THE EXTENDED CENTERLINE OF THE LANDING RUNWAY. IN AN INTERVIEW THE PILOT RELATED THAT ON HIS FIRST APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT HE SAW THE RUNWAY AND OBSERVED VEHICLES ON THE TAXIWAY AS HE PERFORMED HIS MISSED APPROACH. WHEN HE WAS ASKED THE REASON FOR THE SECOND MISSED APPROACH HE SAID IT WAS BECAUSE OF INSTRUMENT FLUCTUATIONS ON HIS COURSE DIRECTION INDICATOR. DURING THIS PERIOD HE ASKED THAT THE LIGHTS BE SET TO HIGH INTENSITY BECAUSE HE COULD NOT SEE THEM. THE LIGHTS WERE VERIFIED AS BEING SET FOR HIGH INTENSITY. HE DID NOT REMEMBER ANYTHING OF THE THIRD APPROACH AFTER HE PASSED THE OUTER MARKER. SNOW REMOVAL OPERATIONS WERE IN PROGRESS DURING THE PERIOD THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS MAKING APPROACHES TO THE AIRPORT.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,628 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 2,428 as pilot in command; 765 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Freight Runners Express INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MNM Menominee MI at 2:40 am
- Destination: MKE Milwaukee WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8, 7,645 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Observation at 4:45 am from CWA
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.
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.