What happened
While operating under instrument flight rules, the aircraft was being provided with vector guidance by air traffic control to navigate around an active military operations area (MOA). Due to the location of the MOA, the controller advised the pilot that any deviation from the assigned course would be restricted to the left. At the time of the incident, the aircraft was navigating through developing convective weather and was likely operating in instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot notified controllers that the flight had encountered freezing rain.
To avoid the weather, the pilot requested and received approval to deviate to the left of the established course. Flight track analysis indicates that the aircraft subsequently entered a descending left turn. During this maneuver, the aircraft reached a roll angle of 70° and experienced significant pitch changes, with the pitch angle reaching -17° and then -34°. Furthermore, the calibrated airspeed surpassed both the maximum operating maneuvering speed (VO) and the aircraft's published never exceed speed (VNE).
As the aircraft performed this maneuver, the structural integrity of the aircraft type failed, causing the plane to break apart. The resulting wreckage was spread across a 3-mile debris field. The flight path recorded in the tracking data is consistent with a total loss of control. The accident resulted in one fatality and the total destruction of the aircraft.
Findings
Analysis of the flight track data suggests that the aircraft's flight path was consistent with a loss of control. The extreme aerodynamic forces experienced during the turn, including speeds exceeding the VNE, contributed to the structural failure of the aircraft.