What happened
While cruising at 24,000 feet, the aircraft entered a leftward spiraling descent. During this descent, the plane reached an altitude of approximately 7,000 feet when it underwent an inflight breakup. This event caused the separation of the outboard wings, the tail sections, and internal vinyl components from the nose baggage door. No distress signal was transmitted by the crew prior to the disintegration.
Onlookers reported hearing the aircraft engines followed by an explosive noise. They subsequently observed the aircraft in a spin, accompanied by a trail of falling debris. The wreckage path spanned roughly 3.5 miles. The initial debris discovered along the path included lightweight materials such as wing skin, tail skin fragments, and vinyl from the baggage door. The tail sections were located approximately 2.5 miles away from the primary wreckage site.
Findings
Investigation of the wreckage revealed that the tail sections showed signs of overload failure, and the wing pieces exhibited evidence of downward-induced separation. No evidence of prior airframe failure was identified that could have caused a loss of control, depressurization, or hypoxia. The aircraft had been out of service for approximately two years before being acquired by its owner two months prior to the accident. The most recent annual inspection was recorded on June 8, 1992. At the time of the accident, weather forecasts indicated icing conditions between 9,000 and 17,000 feet MSL, as well as turbulence predicted below 8,000 feet MSL. The accident resulted in 2 fatalities.