Flight Details
The pilot operated a flight from Mobile, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida, where a passenger boarded for a subsequent leg to Columbus, Mississippi. After the passenger disembarked at Columbus, the pilot initiated an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan for the return trip to Mobile, cruising at an assigned altitude of 7,000 feet.
Loss of Contact
According to reports, the flight progressed normally until 2235 Central Standard Time. At that time, Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center provided instructions for the pilot to contact Houston Center. The pilot did not respond, and repeated attempts to establish communication were unsuccessful. The aircraft continued its route over the Gulf of Mexico. At 2315 CST, the aircraft began a descent from 7,000 feet. Radar contact was lost at 2318 CST as the aircraft descended through 3,500 feet.
Subsequent Search
Personnel aboard an oil company vessel later recovered a wing tip from the aircraft. The pilot was presumed to have been fatally injured, and the aircraft was presumed to have been destroyed.