Incident Overview
A cross-country business flight operating under instrument flight rules (IFR) ended in a crash after the pilot flew into adverse weather conditions. The aircraft was navigating around weather areas when it encountered thunderstorms, turbulence, and icing conditions, leading to a loss of control.
Flight and Weather Conditions
The pilot and air traffic controller had multiple communications regarding routing and weather. The pilot reported entering an area that his stormscope indicated as 'clear' after experiencing rain and moderate turbulence. Temperatures at the time were conducive to structural icing.
Sequence of Events
During the flight, the controller observed a 1,000-foot altitude loss from the assigned cruise altitude of 17,000 feet, followed by a loss of altitude readout. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft disappeared from the controller's radar scope. The wreckage was located near the last radar fix. The airplane had impacted the ground in a near-vertical descent.
Fatalities
All four occupants on board were killed in the accident.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause to be a loss of control following flight into weather conditions containing thunderstorms, turbulence, and icing conditions. Factors included inaccurate weather evaluation and flight into known adverse weather by the pilot in command.