Cessna 402B accident near Sandpoint, Idaho, October 21, 2005
On October 21, 2005 at about 10:50 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N402CA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sandpoint, Idaho (Sandpoint Airport). It was a ferry flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
The pilot's misjudged distance/altitude, which led to him landing short of the runway and impacting the runway's elevated lip. Contributing factors were the elevated runway lip and the right main landing gear failure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 21, 2005 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Sandpoint, Idaho · Sandpoint Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N402CA · registry record · serial 402B0842
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that the flight was normal and he extended the flaps to 45 degrees on one-half mile final for landing. He said that soon after touchdown, the right wing slowly began to fall to the ground. Subsequently, the right wingtip fuel tank impacted a runway light, which compromised the tank. Additionally, the right aileron received a deep gouge in it and the outboard bottom of the wing was damaged. The pilot certificated passenger said that the pilot said to him while on final approach, "watch me make the first taxiway [1,342 feet]." The passenger further stated that "the approach looked really slow." The pilot-passenger said that the resulting landing was "joltingly hard." He said that he was not sure if they had hit something. He said that after the right wing was down on the runway, he saw fuel draining from the right tip tank, and after the airplane came to rest, he exited through the rear door. There was no post landing fire. A construction employee, who was acting as a ground traffic-safety person at the approach end to runway 01, said she observed the airplane land in the dirt, short of the runway. She said that it looked like the airplane landed "very hard", and then it bounced into the air. One of the fixed base operations employees stated that he saw the airplane on a steep final approach. He said that he lost sight of the airplane behind a building, but then saw the airplane perform its "second landing." The employee said the approach end to runway 01 has a 1 to 2 inch lip from the terrain to the surface of 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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane
- Flight time: 1,212 hours in all; 132 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: September 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Other crew
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Last flight review: September 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,939 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 1, 2005; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SFF Spokane WA at 10:15 pm
- Destination: SZT Sandpoint ID
- Runway 01, 5,502 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from GEG, 54 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.