Cessna 340A accident near Bethany, Oklahoma, January 8, 1998
On January 8, 1998 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Cessna 340A, registered N26956, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethany, Oklahoma (Wiley Post airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's flight into known adverse weather conditions which resulted in an inadvertent stall due to airframe ice. A factor was the icing conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 8, 1998 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Bethany, Oklahoma · Wiley Post · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340A · all 340As on the register
- Registration
- N26956 · no longer on the register · serial 0775
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Weather briefings received by the pilot included an airmet for moderate rime and mixed icing conditions from the freezing level at the surface to FL 180. During the ILS approach descent, the aircraft encountered moderate rime and mixed icing in the clouds. The pilot cycled the deicing boots and extended the gear and flaps. The tip tanks and the unheated portion of the windshield accumulated ice. The approach airspeed was blue line plus 10 knots with a power setting at 23 inches of manifold pressure. The aircraft was over the runway at 25 feet agl for the landing flare/touchdown when the pilot reduced the manifold pressure approximately 2 inches. The airplane 'dropped' to the runway.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 24, 1997; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,390 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-NB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sierra Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: TDW Amarillo TX at 3:15 pm
- Destination: PWA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17L, 7,198 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.