What happened
On February 16, 2008, a Lancair LC41 550-FG, registration N621ER, crashed near Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon. The flight originated from Klamath Falls Airport (LMT) under instrument flight rules (IFR) for a personal cross-country trip.
During the approach to Runway 10R, the pilot initially reported not seeing the airport and requested a missed approach. After receiving radar vectors for a second ILS approach, the pilot was cleared to land. At the time, the runway visual range (RVR) was 600 feet, and the weather consisted of fog with a broken cloud ceiling at 100 feet.
At approximately 08:27, the tower controller instructed the pilot to maintain 2,000 feet and turn right to a heading of 140 degrees. Following this instruction, the pilot transmitted an unintelligible message, followed by the statement, "we're gonna crash." The controller was unable to re-establish contact.
Radar data showed the aircraft was stabilized on the localizer near the runway threshold at 08:26:59. Shortly after, the aircraft began a right turn to a south-southeasterly heading. The aircraft struck the top of an 85-foot tree with its right wingtip approximately 3,200 feet southeast of the runway approach end. The aircraft then impacted the ground in a left-wing-low, nose-down attitude and was consumed by fire. The pilot was killed in the accident.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage on February 17, 2008. The engine and airframe showed no evidence of pre-impact failures or malfunctions. All primary and secondary flight controls, including the ailerons, elevators, and rudder, were found to be intact and functional. The throttle, propeller, and mixture controls were in the full forward position.
Due to the intensity of the post-impact fire, the cockpit instruments and avionics components were too thermally and impact-damaged to retrieve flight data. The airport's instrument landing system (ILS) was checked and found to be operating normally.