Accident Overview
On a night instrument flight rules (IFR) flight, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 Solitaire (serial number 410 S.A.) departed Parry Sound / Georgian Bay Airport, Ontario, destined for Toronto / Lester B. Pearson International Airport. The aircraft carried one pilot and one passenger.
Sequence of Events
Prior to departure, the pilot received his IFR clearance via telephone from the Sault Ste. Marie flight service station. The clearance had a valid time of 2118 eastern daylight time from Toronto Area Control Centre and a clearance cancel time of 2135. The pilot did not establish communications with Toronto Area Control Centre within the clearance valid time. The Area Control Centre supervisor commenced a communication search, and at 2151 confirmed with Parry Sound / Georgian Bay Airport personnel that the aircraft had departed 10 to 15 minutes earlier. The aircraft was assumed missing, and the Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario, was notified. Search and rescue was dispatched, and three days later the aircraft wreckage was located one nautical mile west of the airport.
Wreckage and Conditions
The aircraft disintegrated as it cut a 306-foot swath through the poplar forest. Both occupants were fatally injured. The accident occurred at night in instrument meteorological conditions.
Investigation Findings
The official investigation found that the pilot's private pilot licence was not endorsed with an instrument rating, and he was not certified for the IFR flight. The pilot may have been subjected to somatogravic illusion and allowed the aircraft to descend into terrain after a night take-off in IMC. Additionally, the pilot did not completely report his medical conditions to the civil aviation medical examiner.
Other findings included that the pilot was not certified to fly this model of aircraft as his private pilot licence lacked the appropriate high-performance aircraft rating. The pilot conducted a downwind take-off, and while the aircraft was turning left for the on-course track, the aircraft flaps were retracting. The aircraft struck trees while in a shallow descent, and the integrity of the aircraft was compromised as it rolled inverted and entered the impact zone at high speed.
Engine and propeller teardown examinations revealed no pre-impact failures of any component parts or accessories that would have precluded normal engine operation, and both propellers were in a normal operating range and were rotating with power at impact. The ELT did not function due to impact damage.