CESSNA 421B, NORMAN, OKLA., DEC. 10, 2000–The NTSB listed as the probable cause of this accident “the pilot’s failure to follow the instrument approach procedure and his continued descent below the prescribed minimum descent altitude (MDA).” Contributory factors were the pilot’s physical impairment from drugs, the low ceiling, fog and dark-night light conditions. The pilot and his passenger were killed in the accident.
The report elaborates that the privately owned aircraft was dropped off on December 3 at the University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport (OUN) in Norman for an annual inspection. A flight instructor for Airman Flight School–who knew the owner and had once borrowed the aircraft–apparently took the aircraft sometime on December 9 and flew to Altus, Okla., with a passenger. The owner said “no one was authorized to fly the airplane.” The next morning at 0400, the pilot set off with his friend to fly home.
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