What happened
On March 20, 2009, a Piper PA-32-300, registration N55962, crashed into terrain shortly after departing Corona Municipal Airport (AJO) in Corona, California. The flight was a planned cross-country trip to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, conducted under instrument flight rules (IFR).
At approximately 0838 PDT, the aircraft took off from runway 2ally 25. At the time, the airport was reporting instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with a 400-foot overcast ceiling and visibility of 3/4 mile. Witnesses at the airport reported that while the takeoff appeared normal, the low fog quickly obscured the aircraft. Some witnesses reported hearing the sound of the airplane maneuvering northwest of the airport and making what sounded like 360-degree turns, followed by a dull thud.
Radar data tracked the aircraft as it climbed to 900 feet mean sea level (msl) on a westerly course, followed by a series of climbing and descending right turns. The final radar return placed the aircraft at 900 feet msl. The wreckage was located 10 hours later in the thick vegetation of the Prado Flood Control Basin, approximately 0.5 nautical miles northwest of the departure end of runway 25.
The accident resulted in 2 fatal injuries.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage at a recovery service in Littlerock, California. Impact signatures indicated the aircraft struck the ground in a nose-down, left-wing-low attitude. The engine was found buried vertically in a crater beneath the main wreckage.
Mechanical examinations of the airframe and the Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 engine revealed no anomalies or failures that would have prevented normal operation. While the artificial horizon gyro contained water, and the vacuum pump o-ring was protruding, no mechanical malfunctions were identified as causes for the crash.
A review of the pilot's records showed that while he held an instrument rating, he had only accumulated approximately 2 hours of actual instrument flight time. Furthermore, there was no record of an instrument proficiency check within the 12 months preceding the accident, and no instrument flight time had been logged for several months.