Cessna 402C accident near Goldsby, Oklahoma, April 27, 1999
On April 27, 1999 at about 2:16 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N819BW, was destroyed in an accident near Goldsby, Oklahoma. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fatigue failure of the right wing spar as a result of inadequate quality control during manufacture of the spar. A factor was the inadequate inspection of the right wing by maintenance personnel, which failed to detect the crack.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1999 · about 2:16 pm local time
- Place
- Goldsby, Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N819BW · registry record · serial 402C0423
- 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 twin-engine airplane impacted the ground in an uncontrolled descent following the in-flight separation of the right wing during a normal descent. The airplane had accumulated a total time of 20,457 hours and had been flown 52 hours since the most recent annual inspection, which was performed by the current operator 3 weeks prior to the accident. Available maintenance records indicated that since 1988, maintenance personnel had made numerous repairs to the right wing, including repairing skin cracks, working rivets, wing stub spar straps, and the right main landing gear. Metallurgical examination revealed that the right wing's front spar failed due to fatigue that started at an area of mechanical damage and rough machining marks. The presence of primer covering the mechanical damage strongly suggests that the damage was produced during the manufacturing process. It could not be determined whether the mechanical damage or the machining, acting alone, could have caused the fatigue cracking to initiate. Fatigue cracking found on the rear spar and the forward auxiliary spar is most likely secondary fatigue due to load shedding as the crack grew in the front spar.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,754 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20,457 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 6, 1999; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,190 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DAL Dallas TX at 1:16 pm
- Destination: OKC Oklahoma City OK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 pm from OKC, 14 miles away
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.