What happened
On December 3, 2001, a Cessna 172K was conducting a scheduled night flight instruction session at Mariscal Sucre Airport in Quito. The flight, involving an instructor and a student pilot, departed from runway 35 at 0-22 UTC. During the flight, the crew requested an ascent to 12,500 feet and sought authorization to cross the runway axis toward the southwest. Air Traffic Control advised the crew to exercise caution due to ongoing pyrotechnic displays in the La Carolina park area.
The aircraft's last communication with Approach Control occurred at 00:33 UTC, where the crew reported being nine miles from the Condorcocha VOR and climbing. Shortly after, the aircraft disappeared from radar. The wreckage was located the following day on the eastern slope of Loma Ingapirca at an altitude of approximately 12,464 feet. The impact, which occurred at high speed, caused the aircraft to strike the terrain with its propeller and left landing gear, leading to the destruction of the airframe and the deaths of both occupants.
The investigation
The investigation examined the flight's operational history, maintenance records, and meteorological conditions. Investigators found that while the aircraft was mechanically airworthy, there were significant administrative discrepancies in its maintenance logs. Notably, the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) was found with its switch in the 'OFF' position, which prevented the signal from being tracked during the initial search.
The board also scrutinized the crew's flight planning and adherence to airspace restrictions. Evidence at the scene, including a video camera found unstrapped near the student pilot's seat and unsecured seatbelts, suggested that the crew may have been distracted by the local fireworks displays. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the instructor assigned to the flight was not the one originally scheduled by the flight school, and he lacked sufficient experience in conducting night visual flight instruction.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the continuation of a flight under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) into an area where meteorological conditions required Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).
- The crew's distraction by local pyrotechnic displays led to a loss of situational awareness.
- The crew deviated from the authorized airspace for local instruction flights, entering an unauthorized area with high terrain and adverse weather.
- Inexperience of both the instructor and the student pilot regarding night VFR operations contributed to the error.
- Air Traffic Control failed to prevent the aircraft from entering unauthorized airspace.
- The ELT was inadvertently left in the 'OFF' position during a previous maintenance check, hindering search efforts.