General Aviation Accident Bulletin

AVweb's General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB's website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. Find out more about Aviation Safety at www.aviationsafetymagazine.com.

At about 1645 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it apparently entered a tailplane stall during an in-flight icing encounter and collided with terrain. The commercial pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed at the accident site; an IFR flight plan was in effect.

While on approach to Runway 11, “a little ice” began to build up on the wings and the pilot activated the deicing system (boots) twice. The elevator then began to shake and became ineffective. In an effort to avoid a stall, the pilot applied forward input on the pitch control. The airplane contacted a tree and came to rest upright in the front yard of a residence about three miles from the Runway 11 threshold.

The airplane was destroyed at about 1744 Central time when it collided with terrain after the pilot or flight instructor aboard apparently lost control. Visual conditions prevailed. The private pilot and flight instructor were fatally injured.

The private pilot had just bought a share of the accident airplane and was undergoing transition training. Earlier on the day of the accident, the private pilot reported he had completed a one-hour flight to satisfy insurance requirements. On the accident flight, the airplane proceeded south toward the Gulf of Mexico and then turned north as altitude and airspeed increased. The airplane climbed to about 4500 feet AGL, then airspeed decreased and the airplane began a slow descent. The descent increased rapidly until the final datapoint. In the last 12 seconds of recorded data, the airplane made a right turn and descended about 3200 feet.

At about 1240 Pacific time, the airplane sustained substantial damage when its pilot landed on a highway after it lost all power. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the banner-towing flight.

After releasing a banner at midfield, the pilot went around, entered left traffic and climbed to 1800 feet AGL, the traffic pattern altitude. She set up to land on Runway 06, but elected to go around, “due to extreme windshear.” While turning crosswind, the engine sputtered and lost “about 40 percent thrust.” The pilot performed remedial actions, but the engine continued sputtering. The pilot continued the left turn and attempted a landing on Runway 24 but encountered a gusting tailwind and was forced to go around again.

Her intent was to make a 270-degree right turn and land on Runway 06. The airplane’s engine subsequently lost all power and the propeller stopped spinning. The pilot attempted two engine restarts to no avail. At about 300 feet AGL, the pilot spotted a highway with no traffic and “attempted a normal landing.” The airplane subsequently collided with a tree and terrain. The airplane’s nose landing gear collapsed immediately after contacting the ground, the right wing impacted two parked cars located on the right side of the road and the airplane skidded about 500 feet before coming to rest.

This article originally appeared in the May 2021 issue of Aviation Safety magazine.

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