General Aviation Accident Bulletin, July 10, 2023

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 0950 Pacific time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted mountainous terrain under unknown circumstances. The pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. Instrument conditions prevailed; no flight plan was filed.

The pilot requested flight-following services from ATC at 0934, while heading north at 11,900 feet MSL. The controller issued a discrete transponder code but did not provide an altimeter setting or radar identify the airplane. No further communication was observed as the flight climbed to 14,000 feet, and then made a sharp left turn, entering a rapid descent.

AIRMET Zulu was in effect, indicating icing with cloud tops at 14,000 feet MSL. Witnesses observed the accident airplane descending rapidly, in a nose-down attitude, followed by impact and a post-impact fire that was extinguished by precipitation. One witness reported that, nearly six minutes after the airplane impacted terrain, an empty parachute was seen descending through the clouds.

The airplane was substantially damaged at about 1500 Pacific time when its landing gear collapsed after landing. The solo pilot was uninjured.

The pilot reported the airplane had been parked outside under a tarp for a year, and the accident flight was its first after an annual inspection. He also stated that, on final approach, the landing gear selector lever was down and the green gear-down light was illuminated. The pilot stated the gear collapsed a few seconds after touch down and, after viewing the damage, he believed the gear never extended. The airplane’s wing spar carry-through structure was damaged.

At 2137 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it collided with the Gulf of Mexico shortly after takeoff. The commercial pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. Night visual conditions prevailed.

Preliminary FAA data indicate the airplane lifted off from Runway 23 at about 2136 and climbed until reaching approximately 300 feet AGL/MSL and a groundspeed of about 103 knots. The airplane then began a right turn. At about 2136:40, it began to descend. Over the next 14 seconds, the descent rate and groundspeed increased. The final data point, at 2136:54, showed the airplane at 100 feet and about 136 knots, with a descent rate of approximately 3008 fpm.

This article originally appeared in the July 2023 issue of Aviation Safety magazine.

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