Cessna 421B accident near Pensacola, Florida, December 14, 2000
On December 14, 2000 at about 4:27 am local time, a Cessna 421B, registered N781SL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pensacola, Florida (Pensacola Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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 failure of the left main landing gear scissors washer during taxi for takeoff, and collapse of the left main landing gear. A factor in the accident was the failure of unknown maintenance personnel to comply with a manufacturers service letter concerning the scissors washers.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 14, 2000 · about 4:27 am local time
- Place
- Pensacola, Florida · Pensacola Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421B · all 421Bs on the register
- Registration
- N781SL · registry record · serial 421B0343
- 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
After takeoff the landing gear would not retract and the landing gear warning horn sounded. The pilot continued to the destination airport and when weather prevented a landing, he returned to the departure airport. After landing the aircraft swerved to the left and the left main gear tire could be heard squealing. The aircraft went off the side of the runway and the left main gear collapsed and separated. Post crash examination of the aircraft showed the washer, which retains the bolt in the left main gear scissors, had failed and the scissors had separated. This allowed the gear to turn and prevented the gear from retracting due to the ground switch on the scissors not being able to open during takeoff. The failed washer was the subject of Cessna Aircraft Company, Service Information Letter ME83-37, dated November 23, 1983. This letter called for replacement of this washer with a thicker washer at the next routine 100-hour inspection.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,127 hours in all; 94 in this make and model; 128 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 6,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,310 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 20, 2000; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520-H (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Lifeguard Air Ambulance, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PNS at 3:30 am
- Destination: VPS Valparaiso FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17, 7,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 16 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:20 am from PNS, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.