Accident Overview
On November 18, 1982, an airplane registered as N2CA crashed in a wooded area about 1.75 miles north of Mountain View Airport, Missouri, shortly after takeoff. The airplane was destroyed, and all three occupants—the pilot and two passengers—died.
Preflight and Departure
The previous day, November 17, the pilot and the company's chief pilot had flown N2CA from St. Louis to Mountain View Airport. The chief pilot reported no mechanical deficiencies but noted that some avionics equipment, including the Global Navigation System (GNS-1), the attitude director indicator (ADI) on the pilot's side, and the pilot's heading indicator, required several minutes to become operationally usable after being turned on. He stated that the pilot occasionally used the copilot's heading indicator during takeoff until the pilot's side was usable.
After landing on November 17, the airplane was refueled with all tanks filled to capacity, resulting in an increased takeoff weight of about 3,400 lbs compared to previous departures from Mountain View.
On the morning of November 18, the pilot called a fixed-base operator at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to inquire about weather. The operator, who was neither a pilot nor a weather observer, reported visibility of at least 1.5 miles and a "fairly low" ceiling. The pilot then called the Vichy Flight Service Station (FSS) at 0909 to obtain an IFR clearance for a 0930 departure. The clearance was issued and valid until 0930.
The chief pilot performed a preflight inspection and moved the airplane from the hangar. The pilot arrived at the airport between 0920 and 0925, loaded baggage, and boarded the two passengers. The engines were started, and after a brief stop on the ramp, the airplane taxied directly to runway 28, about 225 feet away. The airplane stopped on the runway for 30 to 60 seconds before beginning the takeoff roll at exactly 0930, according to the chief pilot's watch.
Takeoff and Accident
The chief pilot and another witness described the takeoff as normal, though the airplane required about three-quarters of the runway before liftoff. The airplane disappeared from sight when it was 20 to 50 feet above the runway. Witnesses described low ceilings and reduced visibility due to fog, with no rain. The runway was damp from previous rainfall.
There were no direct witnesses to the crash. One person about half a mile northeast heard a jet fly over in a southwesterly direction and shortly after heard an explosion. Another person one-fifth mile north heard the airplane fly over on a southerly heading, then a loud explosion, and saw a fire in the woods.
Crash Site
The airplane crashed in a wooded area about 1.75 miles due north of Mountain View Airport on a heading of 120 degrees, in an attitude at least 30 degrees nose down and a left bank of 90 degrees. The wreckage was spread over a 400-square-foot area.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of control of the airplane following the takeoff in instrument meteorological conditions as a result of the pilot's use of attitude and heading instruments which had not become operationally usable and/or his partial reliance on the copilot's flight instruments which resulted in an abnormal instrument scan pattern leading to the pilot's disorientation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's hurried and inadequate preflight procedures.