Cessna 421B accident near Muskogee, Oklahoma, January 6, 1991
On January 6, 1991 at about 2:43 am local time, a Cessna 421B, registered N421H, was destroyed in an accident near Muskogee, Oklahoma (Davis Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 6 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT, DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE PILOT'S PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT FROM THE CHRONIC SINUS INFECTION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 6, 1991 · about 2:43 am local time
- Place
- Muskogee, Oklahoma · Davis Field
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · all 421Bs on the register
- Registration
- N421H · no longer on the register · serial 421B0516
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A PLT (WHOSE INSTRUMENT CURRENCY COULD NOT BE DTRMD) TOOK OFF AT NGT IN IMC. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ACFT CRASHED ABT 1.5 MI FM THE DEP END OF THE RWY. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT IT IMPACTED IN AN 85 DEG RGT BANK, NOSE DWN ATTITUDE AT HI SPEED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE WAS FND DRG THE INVESTIGATION; HOWEVER, DRG A PRE-PURCHASE INSPN ON 10/16/90, SVRL DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED. THESE INCLUDED AN INOP FLT DRCTR, AN AUTOPLT MALFUNCTION & A MISRIGGED FLT CTL SYS THAT ALLOWED THE CTRL WHEEL TO INDC A LEFT TURN WHEN THE ACFT WAS IN LVL FLT. THERE WAS NO RECORD OF THESE BEING REPAIRED. RECORDS SHOWED THE PITOT-STATIC SYS WAS LAST TESTED ON 3/24/88. THE PLT WAS TAKING SINE-AID & TYLENOL FOR A CHRONIC SINUS INFECTION. ALTHOUGH TOX CHECKS INDCD THE PRESENCE OF 50.7 UG/ML OF PSEUDOEPHEDRINE & 36.4 UG/ML OF ACETAMINOPHEN IN THE PLT'S URINE, NONE WAS FOUND IN HIS BLOOD. THE SINUS COND COULD HAVE AFFECTED THE PLT'S BALANCE & EQUILIBRIUM.
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: 1,820 hours in all; 684 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,522 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,580 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 22, 1990; 117 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,200 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-H2 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MKO at 2:42 am
- Destination: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 7,200 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 10 knots
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from TUL, 40 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.