What happened
During a nighttime approach to Bethany Airport, the pilot was executing a final turn to align with the approach path. During this maneuver, the aircraft became uncontrollable and struck the ground, subsequently catching fire several miles from the airfield.
The accident resulted in four fatalities among the occupants. One passenger sustained serious injuries during the impact.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the crash was caused by an uncontrolled collision with the terrain during a traffic pattern turn. The primary factor identified was spatial disorientation experienced by the pilot. Several environmental and operational elements contributed to this loss of control, including:
- Presence of fog
- Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) conditions
- Disorientation occurring while transitioning from Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to IFR conditions during a low-altitude left turn