Flight and Weather Conditions
The student pilot was en route at an altitude of about 17,700 ft mean sea level on a cross-country flight with a passenger. Air traffic control had advised the pilot of an area of moderate to heavy precipitation at the airplane’s 12 o’clock position. The pilot responded that he had been able to dodge the areas of precipitation but that they were getting larger. No further communications were received from the pilot. Shortly afterward, the airplane entered a left turn that continued through 180° before the airplane began a descent from its cruise altitude. The flight track ended in an area of moderate to extreme reflectivity as depicted on weather radar, indicating the airplane was in a rapidly descending right turn at 13,900 ft when tracking information was lost.
Wreckage and Evidence
The wreckage was scattered across a debris field about 2 miles long. Examination revealed lateral crushing along the left side of the fuselage and the separation of both wings and the empennage. Wing spar signatures and impact marks suggested positive wing loading before the wing separation and in-flight breakup. The accident site was included in a Convective SIGMET advisory for thunderstorms, hail, and wind gusts up to 50 kts. A model atmospheric sounding near the site indicated clouds between about 15,000 ft and 27,000 ft, as well as potential for light rime icing from 15,500 ft to 23,000 ft.
Pilot Background and Toxicology
The pilot had about 47 total hours of flight experience, with about 4 hours of instruction in simulated instrument conditions. A previous flight instructor reported that the pilot displayed attitudes of “anti-authority” and “impulsivity.” Ethanol was detected in two postmortem tissue specimens; however, based on distribution and amount, it may have been from postmortem production and unlikely to have contributed to the crash. Fluoxetine, trazodone, and phentermine were also detected in postmortem toxicology specimens. The pilot had reported using fluoxetine for anger and irritability. Trazodone and phentermine have potential for impairing effects, but an unimpaired pilot with similar inexperience would likely have lost control during an encounter with IMC. Therefore, it is unlikely that the pilot’s use of these medications affected his handling in a way that contributed to the crash. Review of the FAA medical certification file allowed no specific conclusion regarding any underlying psychiatric condition that may have contributed to his decision to continue into IMC, as that decision was consistent with his previous pattern of risk-tolerant behavior.
Conclusion
The circumstances are consistent with the student pilot’s decision to continue into an area of deteriorating weather, encountering IMC and convective activity, losing visual references, which resulted in spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control. During the descent, the airplane exceeded its design limitations, leading to structural failure and in-flight breakup.