NTSB Identification: CEN12FA290
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, May 11, 2012 in Chanute, KS
Aircraft: CESSNA 401, registration: N9DM
Injuries: 4 Fatal,1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On May 11, 2012, approximately 1630 central daylight time, a Cessna 401 airplane, N9DM, was substantially damaged upon impact with terrain near Chanute, Kansas. The commercial pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. One passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which operated on an instrument flight plan. The cross-country flight departed the Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport (RVS), Tulsa, Oklahoma, approximately 1545, for the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport (CBF), Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Initial reports indicate that the pilot received air traffic control services and had requested to descend from 10,000 feet mean sea level (msl) to 8,000 feet msl. There were no further radio communications between the pilot and air traffic control, nor were there any distress calls by the pilot.

The accident site was located in a tree line, between a grass field and a corn field. The wreckage path’s initial impact point was a ground scar consistent with a ground contact by the right wing tip, followed by signatures of additional ground impacts, before the airplane collided with a large tree. A post crash fire ensured. All major airplane components were accounted for at the accident scene.

The wreckage was retained for further examination.

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