Narrative:A Beechcraft A100 King Air, N30GC, impacted trees about 3/4 mile from the departure end of runway 26R at Chino Airport (CNO), CA. The wreckage came to rest inverted in an open field located on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) facility near the airport. The airplane was destroyed.
The commercial instrument rated pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight.
The reported weather at the time of the accident was calm winds, a 1/4-mile visibility in fog and a vertical visibility of 100 feet. Shortly after takeoff for the instrument-flight-rules flight, the airplane made a slight turn to the left and impacted the tops of 25-foot trees about a 1/2 mile from the runway. An enhanced ground proximity warning system was installed on the airplane and data extraction from the system indicated that the airplane achieved an initial positive climb profile with a slight turn to the left and then a descent. A witness reported hearing the crash and observed the right wing impact the ground and burst into flames. The airplane then cartwheeled for several hundred feet before coming to rest inverted. The airframe, engines, and propeller assemblies were inspected with no mechanical anomalies noted that would have precluded normal flight.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's failure to maintain a positive climb rate during an instrument takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the low visibility."
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 1 year and 6 months | Accident number: | LAX08FA026 | Download report: | Summary report
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Sources:
» NTSB
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Chino Airport, CA to Visalia Airport, CA as the crow flies is 304 km (190 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.