Incident Overview
A routine flight turned critical when the left engine of the aircraft caught fire in mid-air. The fire intensified and shortly thereafter, the engine detached from the wing. The crew promptly decided to divert to China Lake Air Force Base (AFB) for an emergency landing.
Emergency Landing and Crash
As the aircraft approached China Lake AFB, the pilot-in-command executed a crash landing in a desert area. The aircraft skidded across the terrain, resulting in substantial damage. Despite the severity of the impact, there were no casualties among the occupants. The aircraft was subsequently written off due to the extent of the damage.
Official Findings
The investigation determined the probable cause of the accident was a fire on the left engine, which detached in flight. No additional factors were cited.