NTSB CHI84LA135 — 1984-03-21 · JOLIET, Illinois, United States

Current FAA registration · N260RA

Make / Model: CESSNA 421C
Year of manufacture: 1980 · 4 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR GTSIO-520 SER (435 hp)
Seats / Engines: 8 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 19801028
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A28075

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N260RA Cessna 421C None

Factual narrative

THE ACFT PICKED UP MODERATE TO SEVERE ICING WHICH THE PILOT THOUGHT HE HAD SHAKEN OFF AS HE CYCLED THE DEICE BOOTS. HE SAW THE ICE COME OFF OF THE WINGS BUT COULD NOT SEE THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER. ON SHORT FINAL AT 100 KTS THE CONTROL YOKE BEGAN VIBRATING. HE INCREASED AIRSPEED & LOWERED THE NOSE BUT WAS UNABLE TO FLARE RESULTING IN A HARD LANDING. CLEAR ICE CHUNKS WERE FOUND ON THE RUNWAY WHICH APPARENTLY BROKE OFF ON LANDING. AN OPERATIONAL CHECK OF THE DEICE BOOTSPERFORMED AT A LATER DATE WAS SATISFACTORY ON BOTH THE WING & HORIZONTAL STABILIZER SURFACES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1984_CHI84LA135.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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