Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 accident near Utica, New York, September 27, 1991
On September 27, 1991 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60, registered CFFSS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Utica, New York. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FATIGUE CRACKING OF THE PROPELLER HUB.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 27, 1991 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Utica, New York
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 · all MU-2B-60s on the register
- Registration
- CFFSS · no longer on the register · serial 783SA
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CLIMB, ONE OF THE FOUR PROPELLER BLADES ON THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE SEPARATED FROM THE PROPELLER HUB, DAMAGING ANOTHER PROPELLER BLADE AND THE FUSELAGE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. THE ROTATIONAL UNBALANCE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY EXTREME VIBRATION AND RESULTED IN DISTORTION AND DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE/COWL ASSEMBLY AND THE WING. THE UPPER PORTION OF THE ENGINE COWL WAS DEFLECTED UPWARD OVER THE WING AT AN ANGLE OF ABOUT 30 DEG, RESULTING IN DISTORTION OF AIRFLOW, BUFFETING, AND DEGRADATION OF ROLL CONTROL. DUE TO EXCESSIVE DRAG, MAXIMUM POWER WAS REQUIRED ON THE NUMBER ONE ENGINE IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE RATE OF DESCENT AND LAND SUCCESSFULLY. A METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION DISCLOSED EVIDENCE OF FATIGUE CRACKING OF THE PROPELLER HUB ARM.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,633 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 242 in the last 90 days; 99 in the last 30 days; 7,205 as pilot in command; 2,300 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,756 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 15, 1991; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,575 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-10511M (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air 500 Limited
The flight
- Departed from: SYR Syracuse NY
- Destination: BED Bedford MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.