Cessna 172N Destroyed in Accident Near Tyrone, Pennsylvania (N733KZ)

Accident Overview and Flight History On May 1, 2019, at approximately 1251 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, registration N733KZ, was destroyed in an accident near Tyrone, Pennsylvania. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was being operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The pilot had filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan via the ForeFlight application for a route from University Park Airport (UNV) in State College, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh/Butler Regional Airport (BTP) in Butler, Pennsylvania. During initial contact with ground control, the pilot requested to taxi to runway 24 for a westbound departure. When asked by the controller whether he intended to depart on the filed IFR plan or under visual flight rules (VFR), the pilot elected to depart VFR. The controller cleared the pilot for takeoff from runway 24 and instructed him to advise upon departing Class D airspace. The pilot acknowledged the instruction but did not provide the required notification, and no further communications were received from him.