N405MN
Cessna 402C
After departure from San Juan, the pilot of N405MN contacted the FAA San Juan Approach Control, was identified on radar by the controller, and told to climb to 7,000 feet. About 1 minute later, the pilot is told to proceed direct to St. Croix. About 4 minutes later, the pilot requested radar vectors to St. Croix, and was told to fly heading 140 degrees. Radar data showed the flight leveled at the cruise altitude of 7,000 feet at about 0444. At about 0453:36, the pilot requested a lower altitude, and was cleared to 2,000 feet. The pilot acknowledged the clearance, and no further transmissions were received from the pilot. The flight began descent from 7,000 feet at about 0454. At 0454:29, the aircraft's transponder reports the flight is at 6,500 feet. At 0454:41, the transponder reports the flight is at 5,600 feet, and at 0454:49, at 4,000 feet. At 0454:53, the transponder reports the flight is at 1,100 feet. The flight is not observed on radar after this. No other aircraft or radar returns are observed near the flight as it began it's descent. One main landing gear tire, wheel, and brake assembly; the left wing lower skin from the area above the wing flap; the left wing baggage compartment door; the right nose baggage compartment door; the cabin floor cover; and some items from the U.S. mail cargo, were recovered floating in the ocean, at points north of the last observed radar contact with the airplane, on the day of the accident and in the days after the accident. The recovered components had damage from being separated from the airplane. None of the recovered components had any fire, heat, or soot damage. The remainder of the airplane was not located and recovered. The depth of the sea in the area of the accident site was reported by the Coast Guard to be about 6,000 feet. U.S. Post Office personnel reported the flight carried 1,517 pounds of U.S. mail. No hazardous materials were in the mail. A 75-pound pouch of mail was recovered from the ocean and identified as having been placed on N405MN. The weather at the time of the accident was reported to scattered clouds with visibility 10 miles.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 8, 2000, about 0455 Atlantic standard time, a Cessna 402C, N405MN, registered to and operated by M and N Aviation, Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 135 nonscheduled domestic mail contract flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, crashed into the Caribbean Sea, near Vieques, Puerto Rico. Visual meteorological conditions were reported at St. Croix, the nearest weather observing site, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The aircraft is presumed to have been destroyed and the commercial-rated pilot is presumed to have received fatal injuries. The flight originated from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the same day, about 0430. Transcripts of communications from the FAA, San Juan Approach Control, show that after departure from San Juan, the pilot of N405MN contacted the FAA San Juan Approach Control at 0432:18, was identified on radar by the controller, and told to climb to 7,000 feet. About 1 minute later, the pilot is told to proceed direct to St. Croix and about 4 minutes later, the pilot requested radar vectors to St. Croix from the controller, and was told to fly heading 140 degrees. At about 0453:36, the pilot requested a lower altitude, and was cleared to 2,000 feet. The pilot acknowledged the clearance, and no further transmissions were received from the pilot. (See NTSB Air Traffic Control Specialist's Factual Report.) Recorded radar data from the FAA San Juan Approach Control and the United States Air Force show the flight leveled at the cruise altitude of 7,000 feet at about 0444. The flight began descent from 7,000 feet at about 0454. At 0454:29, the aircraft's transponder reports the flight is at 6,500 feet. At 0454:41, the transponder reports the flight is at 5,600 feet, and at 0454:49, at 4,000 feet. At 0454:53, the transponder reports the flight is at 1,100 feet. The flight is not observed on radar after this. No other aircraft or radar returns are observed near the flight as it began it's descent. (See NTSB Recorded Radar Study.) Debris and mail from the airplane was located by the U.S. Coast Guard, about 11 hours after the accident, about 5 miles north of the last radar position of the airplane. The main airplane wreckage and the pilot were not located. The depth of the sea in the area of the accident site was reported by the Coast Guard to be about 6,000 feet. U.S. Post Office personnel reported the flight carried 1,517 pounds of U.S. mail. No hazardous materials were in the mail. A 75-pound pouch of mail was recovered from the ocean and identified as having been placed on N405MN. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held an FAA commercial pilot certificate with airplane single engine land, airplane multiengine land, and instrument airplane ratings, last issued on August 18, 1997. The pilot held a FAA first class medical certificate issued on October 2, 1999, with the limitation that the holder wear corrective glasses. The pilot was hired by the operator on June 24, 2000, and received a flight check and was assigned as a pilot-in-command in the Cessna 402C on that date. The operator reported the pilot had accumulated 2,400 total flight hours, 1,980 flight hours in multiengine airplanes, and 235 flight hours in the Cessna 402C. The pilot had accumulated about 10 flight hours in the 7 days prior to the accident, and had been on duty for 1 hour 20 minutes at the time of the accident. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a 1980 model Cessna 402C, serial number 402C0221. At the time of the accident the airplane had accumulated 13,702 total flight hours. The airplane received a 100-hour inspection on June 27, 2000, 27 flight hours before the accident. On July 3, 2000, 12 flight hours before the accident, the left propeller was changed. The airplanes static system, altimeters, and altitude encoder received the 24-month test required by FAA regulations on July 19,1999. Records show the airplane was involved in a landing incident at Vieques, Puerto Rico, on April 5, 2000, 86 flight hours before the accident. The airplane was ferried to Isla Grande Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico, for repairs. Two flush patches were installed on the right wing leading edge, the right aileron had the skin replaced and then the aileron was painted and balance, and the right wing tip was patched. The airplane was returned to service on June 2, 2000, after a test flight. On December 1, 1999, 324 flight hours before the accident, the airplane's registration number was changed from N2717B to N405MN. Also on that date, company maintenance personnel replaced the lower vertical stabilizer bracket and bearing assembly, the upper hinge assembly, all elevator bearings, and the rudder and trim tab assemblies. (See airplane maintenance records.) WEIGHT AND BALANCE INFORMATION At the time the flight began the descent from 7,000 feet, the airplane was estimated to weight about 6,800 pounds and the center of gravity was estimated to be about 159.6 inches aft of the datum. The maximum allowable takeoff weight for the airplane is 6,850 pounds, and center of gravity limits at the maximum allowable takeoff weight are 151.58 inches aft of the datum, forward limit, and 160.67 inches aft of the datum, aft limit. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The St. Croix Airport, 0455 automated surface weather observation was wind 080 degrees at 9 knots; sky clear, visibility 10 miles, temperature 79 degrees F, dew point temperature 72 degrees F, altimeter 30.03 inches of Hg. The Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Station, 0455 surface weather observation was wind 070 degrees at 4 knots; visibility greater than 6 miles; few clouds at 2,500 feet, ceiling 11,000 feet broken, 25,000 feet broken; temperature 79 degrees F; dew point temperature 72 degrees F; altimeter setting 30.03 inches of Hg. Weather radar information from the San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 0443 showed there were no weather echoes reported in the crash area. Satellite data at 0445 showed the cloud tops in the area of the accident were about 21,700 feet. A pilot flying from San Juan to St. Thomas, around the time of the accident flight reported he encountered isolated moderate to light rain showers in a pitch-black sky. Visibility was at least 10 nautical miles when there was visible land lights to see. He stated he did not encounter any significant turbulence or adverse weather at his assigned altitude of 3,000 feet. Another pilot stated that while enroute from San Juan to Vieques about 0500, the ceilings were 2,000 feet widely scattered, 3,000 to 5,000 feet scattered to broken, visibility 10 miles in light haze. Some scattered showers were also encountered on the route. Light turbulence throughout the area could be described as normal. At the time of the accident the sun and moon were below the horizon. See NTSB Meteorological Factual Report. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION One main landing gear tire, wheel, and brake assembly, the left wing lower skin from the area above the wing flap, the left wing baggage compartment door, the right nose baggage compartment door, the cabin floor cover, and some items from the U.S. mail cargo, were recovered floating in the ocean, at points north of the last observed radar contact with the airplane, on the day of the accident and in the days after the accident. The recovered components had damage from being separated from the airplane. None of the recovered components had any fire, heat, or soot damage. The remainder of the airplane was not located and recovered. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION The remains of the pilot were not recovered and no autopsy or toxicology studies could be performed. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The components from the airplane which were recovered from the ocean were released by NTSB on July 10, 2000, to Jose Maldonado, President, M and N Aviation, Inc.
The airplanes entry into an uncontrolled descent for undetermined reasons from which it crashed into the ocean.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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