Cessna 402C incident near Hyannis, Massachusetts, February 11, 2005
On February 11, 2005 at about 8:35 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N403BK, suffered minor damage in an incident near Hyannis, Massachusetts (Nantucket 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The mechanic's inadequate inspection, which failed to discover cracks in the left wing spar around wing station 114.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 11, 2005 · about 8:35 pm local time
- Place
- Hyannis, Massachusetts · Nantucket · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N403BK · no longer on the register · serial 402C0330
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a positioning flight, the pilot noticed the airplane required aileron trim to maintain level flight. The airplane landed without incident. Subsequent examination of the airplane revealed two rivets missing on the underside of the left wing, between the heat shield and a factory-installed doubler. The lower forward spar cap was cracked at wing station (WS) 114, at a rivet hole located just outboard of the outboard engine beam. The web doublers, both forward and aft, were split near the end of the inboard wing spar web at WS 112.5. The skin was cracked from the front spar lower cap up to the first stringer location behind the front spar. The airplane had been operated for about 20,510 total hours, and was required to have its forward, aft, and auxiliary wing spars inspected for cracks per FAA AD 2000-23-01, at intervals not to exceed 110 hours time-in-service. The cracked portion of the forward spar, skin and the aft web doubler were removed for further examination. The examinations revealed fatigue damage, that originated at the forward portion of the rivet hole on the spar cap at WS 114. Blackening and corrosion were observed on the fracture surface, consistent with the fracture being present at the time of the airplane's last inspection, which was conducted about a week earlier, and 12 operational hours prior to the incident.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,500 hours in all; 12,500 in this make and model
- Last flight review: February 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20,510 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 1, 2005; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Continental TSIO-520-VB4 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Continental TSIO-520-VB4 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Island Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: HYA Barnstable MA
- Destination: ACK Nantucket MA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 17 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.37 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from HYA
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.