Cruise-Flight Loss of Control and Terrain Impact (N441AR)

Accident Overview and Weather Conditions The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and fire when it struck the terrain after a loss of control during cruise flight. Before departure, the pilot received a weather brief from AFSS concerning instrument meteorological conditions along the route, including rain, freezing rain, icing, turbulence, and snow. Cloud tops were forecast at 25,000 feet, and the pilot filed a flight plan with a cruise flight level of 28,000 feet. ## In-Flight Events About 32 minutes after takeoff, at 1345:58, the pilot reported an attitude gyro problem and said he was hand-flying the airplane. The aircraft remained at about 28,000 feet for the next seven minutes. At 1352:46, the pilot declared an emergency, but at 1352:53, he said, “Uh it came back on never mind.” At 1353:26, the pilot stated, “I need to get to uh anywhere I can get a visual.” At 1353:56, the airplane was cleared to climb to 31,000 feet, while radar data indicated it was at 27,000 feet. Over the next 4.5 minutes, radar data showed a series of steep descents and climbs until radar contact was lost at 2,500 feet. A commercial airline pilot flying in the same sector reported hearing the accident pilot say he was in a spin. That pilot was at 33,000 feet and described being “barely above the tops” of the clouds. ## Impact and Findings The airplane impacted the terrain in a steep nose-down attitude and burst into flames. The engines, flight controls, and flight instruments did not exhibit any pre-existing anomalies. A witness reported that two days before the accident, the pilot had told him the attitude gyro was having problems. There was no record that the pilot had the attitude gyro inspected before the accident. The witness also reported that the pilot routinely flew with the autopilot engaged soon after takeoff and that he had never observed the pilot hand-fly the airplane in instrument conditions.