Cessna 402C incident near Provincetown, Massachusetts, January 25, 1997
On January 25, 1997 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N121PB, suffered minor damage in an incident near Provincetown, Massachusetts (Provincetown Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were 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 inadequate inflight planning/decision, and his misjudgment of speed and distance. Related factors were: fog, tailwind, and soft terrain on the overrun area at the end of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 25, 1997 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Provincetown, Massachusetts · Provincetown Muni
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N121PB · no longer on the register · serial 402C0507
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during an ILS Runway 7 Approach, he acquired the runway at 250 feet above the ground level, and performed a normal touchdown. After touchdown, the airplane continued down the 3,500 foot runway, and went off the end onto a soft overrun area, where the right main gear collapsed. The published decision height for the ILS approach was 208 feet. The 1335 EDT weather at the airport was reported, in part, to be 100 foot overcast, visibility 1/2 mile with fog, wind from 220 degrees at 15 knots.
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, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,400 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 4,700 as pilot in command; 180 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,021 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 23, 1997; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,210 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hyannis Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: BOS Boston MA at 6:30 pm
- Destination: PVC MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 7, 3,498 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 pm from PVC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N121PB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.