What happened
During a flight through Southern California, the aircraft encountered significant weather challenges, including multiple cloud layers at 9,000, 12,000, and 16,000 feet. Visibility was further obscured by haze and smoke originating from active wildfires in the region. After departing toward a western VORTAC, the aircraft's altitude fluctuated between 3,500 and 12,900 feet msl. Radar tracking indicated that during the final minutes of flight, the aircraft performed several erratic climbing and descending turns before reversing direction.
Between 12:21:24 and the final radar contact, the aircraft's altitude dropped rapidly from 11,900 feet to 7,700 feet msl, representing a vertical descent rate of 13,263 feet per minute. The wreckage was located roughly 0.5 miles northwest of the final radar position, spread across a 0.2-nm area. The debris field included components such as the left elevator, portions of the right stabilizer, and sections of the rudder and ailerons. The main fuselage, engines, and wings were found at the southern end of the debris path. The aircraft struck the ground in an inverted position, with the wings separating from the nacelles upon impact.
Findings
Investigation of the debris revealed that the structural failures were caused by aerodynamic overload.