Cessna 402C accident near San Antonio, Texas, March 16, 2000
On March 16, 2000 at about 4:11 am local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N11NX, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Antonio, Texas (San Antonio International airport). 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 pilot's inadequate handling of the aircraft during the landing flare/touchdown resulting in a hard landing that collapsed the left main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 16, 2000 · about 4:11 am local time
- Place
- San Antonio, Texas · San Antonio International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N11NX · registry record · serial 402C-0480
- 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
After touchdown, the pilot aborted the landing and performed a go-around. During the subsequent landing, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane exited the runway and struck runway lights. A post accident fire ignited from a fuel leak under the left wing coming in contact with a hot wire from the damaged runway lights. The commercial pilot had completed all company training requirements, satisfactorily completed the CFR Part 135 airman competency/proficiency flight check administered by the company check airman, and the subsequent line checks. The pilot had accumulated 600 flight hours in the accident make and model. At the last annual inspection, the accumulated airframe time was 15,522.7 hours. Maintenance records did not reveal evidence of any anomalies or uncorrected maintenance defects. Examination revealed that the left main landing gear trunnion had fractured as a result of overload. No microscopic anomalies were found in the trunnion material.
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: 1,275 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 625 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,523 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 19, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 7,190 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HRL Harlingen TX at 2:42 am
- Destination: SAT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 3, 7,505 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 120° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:10 am from SAT
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.
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 FTW00LA099.