Accident Details
On an evening cross-country flight, a private pilot and his father, the passenger, departed Salinas Municipal Airport, California, at 1837 hours, intending to fly to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska. The pilot, who was the registered owner of the airplane, operated under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
Preflight and Departure
The pilot and his father had spent the weekend at a driving academy at Laguna Seca Raceway, having arrived earlier in the week. According to the pilot's wife, they encountered strong headwinds during the outbound flight from Omaha and decided to take advantage of tailwinds for the return flight that night rather than stay in a hotel. The pilot planned to return his father to Omaha and then fly to his residence in Missouri the following day.
FAA radar and voice communication data show that prior to departure, the pilot received an IFR clearance to Omaha and read it back correctly. A few minutes after takeoff, the airplane was cleared to fly direct to the Panoche VORTAC. The airplane followed a direct course of 60 degrees, reaching Panoche at a mode C altitude of 17,200 feet approximately 14 minutes later.
Climb and Cruise
The airplane continued on the same course and reached the Clovis VOR at 1912, coincident with attaining a reported cruise altitude of 27,000 feet. The pilot reported leveling for cruise and flying direct to Omaha. The sector controller instructed the pilot to fly direct to the Coaldale VOR and then to Omaha, which the pilot acknowledged. For the next five minutes, the airplane maintained altitude and heading with no further transmissions from the pilot.
Descent and Breakup
The airplane then began a descending turn to the right, with a final mode C radar target recorded 60 seconds later. During this period, it descended to 22,600 feet, and ground speed increased from about 190 to 375 knots. For the remaining six minutes, a 6.5-mile-long cluster of primary targets (without altitude data) was observed emanating from the airplane's last location on a heading of about 150 degrees. The air traffic controller made five attempts to contact the pilot without success.
Throughout the climb and cruise, the airplane flew directly to assigned waypoints with minimal course variation, consistent with autopilot use. The airplane impacted terrain following an in-flight breakup near Shaver Lake, California. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage and was partially consumed by postimpact fire.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause was the pilot's failure to regain airplane control following a sudden rapid descent during cruise, which resulted in an in-flight breakup. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to make the flight with a failed vacuum pump, particularly at high altitude in night conditions.