Accident Overview
During a flight conducted under instrument flight rules, a pilot departed California's central valley on a business trip with an intended destination in southern California. En route communications were normal, and the pilot complied with the radar controller's instruction to climb from 10,000 to 11,000 feet. Approximately 1.5 minutes after receiving an updated altimeter setting, the airplane began a descent without the pilot notifying air traffic control or reporting any emergency.
Descent and Maneuvers
The aircraft descended from 11,000 feet until impacting 900-foot mean sea level terrain. Minutes after initiating the descent, the airplane passed abeam the Tracy airport, which was the closest airport to its location, then reversed direction and turned toward Tracy. During the final two minutes of recorded flight, the descent rate averaged 1,550 feet per minute. The radar track showed the pilot successfully executed a course reversal and initially headed toward the nearest airport but was unable to arrest the descent.
Impact and Wreckage
The impact occurred on level terrain approximately 1.3 miles short of the airport. Ground scar signatures indicated a wings-level attitude at impact. The aircraft sustained structural fragmentation, with the engine and propeller found in a 3-foot-deep impact crater. Wreckage components were scattered as far as 317 feet from the crater. There was no evidence of fire.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The pilot maintained the airplane on an annual inspection basis and had flown it since its manufacture in 1998, accumulating 220 total flight hours. In the preceding 12 months, the pilot had made 64 flights in the airplane. The pilot was reportedly in good health. No evidence was found in the fragmented wreckage regarding the reason for the steep descent to ground impact.