Cessna 421B accident near Youngstown, Ohio, January 15, 1999
On January 15, 1999, a Cessna 421B, registered N882BB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Youngstown, Ohio (Warren Regional 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 failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor was the icy runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 15, 1999
- Place
- Youngstown, Ohio · Warren Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · all 421Bs on the register
- Registration
- N882BB · no longer on the register · serial 421B0543
- 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
The pilot stated that he was aware of the poor braking action on the runway. He landed on the runway and reported the aircraft struck a hole with the left main landing gear, and veered off the left side of the runway into a snowbank. A Notice to Airman issued for the runway stated that it was covered with hard packed snow over thin ice, and braking action was reported as poor. A witness stated that the airplane was in a steep angle of descent when it broke out of the clouds. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector was unable to locate the 'bump' the pilot reported. He added that numerous tracks from emergency equipment were on 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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,239 hours in all; 1,800 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 5,122 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,627 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 14, 1999; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-H (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hawkeye Charter Service, INC
The flight
- Departed from: EKM South Bend IN at 11:06 pm
- Destination: YNG
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 32, 9,003 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 16°F (-9°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
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.