General Aviation Accident Bulletin, October 31, 2022

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 1817 Pacific time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it was landed on a road following a partial engine-power loss. The pi lot and passenger were not injured; two people on the ground suffered minor injuries.

The pilot picked up the airplane following an annual inspection and added fuel for a total of about 56 gallons aboard. He then flew around the pattern and landed, shutdown and then picked up a passenger for a cross-country flight to reposition the airplane. Thirty minutes after departure and while in cruise at 6500 feet MSL, the engine lost partial power. The pilot diverted to a nearby airport but was forced to land on a road when the flight could not reach the runway. The airplane struck a vehicle, separating the left wing from the fuselage. Two occupants of the vehicle received minor injuries.

The airplane was destroyed at about 0938 Mountain time when it collided with terrain under unknown circumstances. The pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured.

Recorded ADS-B data show the airplane departing and proceeding westerly for about four minutes before a right turn to a northwesterly heading was initiated. By 0938:37, the airplane had climbed to 9500 feet MSL. It then made a descending left turn to 8600 feet MSL by 0938:46, followed by a right turn. The last recorded ADS-B data depicted the airplane at 8400 feet MSL and about 579 feet northeast of the accident site.

At 0839 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it collided with terrain after apparently descending out of control. The pilot and student pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured.

Radar and ATC recordings show the flight took off at about 0715 and flew northeast toward its intended destination at 9500 feet MSL while receiving VFR flight following services. Sometime later, the pilot reported climbing through 11,500 feet. He advised ATC they were trying to remain clear of clouds and requested assistance in finding visual conditions as they climbed. Shortly after the pilot reported climbing through 12,300 feet and still in the “soup,” radar data show the airplane descending through 7600 feet. There was no response to ATC’s calls.

The airplane was substantially damaged in a hard landing and subsequent emergency landing at about 1404 Eastern time. The pilot-in-command (PIC) was not injured; the second-in-command (SIC) sustained fatal injuries.

Earlier, while the SIC was attempting to land, a hard landing ensued, shearing off the right main landing gear. The PIC elected to divert to a nearby airport. About 20 minutes into the diversion, the SIC became visibly upset about the hard landing, soon opened his side window and “may have gotten sick.” The SIC then lowered the airplane’s rear ramp, indicating he “felt like he was going to be sick and needed air.” The SIC left his seat, removed his headset, “apologized and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door.”

The PIC turned the airplane right to search for the SIC and notified ATC his SIC had departed the airplane without a parachute. He then proceeded to the divert airport, performed a low approach and then an emergency landing, with the airplane coming to rest upright in the grass beside the runway.

This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of Aviation Safety magazine.

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