Accident Beechcraft B100 King Air N499SW,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 320830

Date:	Wednesday 19 December 2012
Time:	00:02
Type:	Beechcraft B100 King Air
Owner/operator:	Stinger Welding Inc.
Registration:	N499SW
MSN:	BE-89
Year of manufacture:	1980
Engine model:	Garrett TPE331-6-511B
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	9 km NNE of Libby Airport, MT - United States of America
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Executive
Departure airport:	Coolidge Municipal Airport, AZ
Destination airport:	Libby Airport, MT
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Beechcraft B100 King Air turboprop plane was destroyed when it struck terrain on top of Swede Mountain, north northeast of Libby Airport, MT, USA. The pilot and passenger were killed.
The flight left Coolidge Municipal Airport, AZ about 20:25 on December 18, piloted by the CEO of Stinger Welding Inc. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the pilot had been cleared for the GPS-A instrument approach procedure for the Libby Airport. The clearance had a crossing restriction of 10,700 feet at the PACCE intersection, which was the initial approach fix for the GPS-A approach. The pilot acknowledged that clearance at 23:53. At 23:59, the airplane target was about 7 miles south of the airport; the pilot reported the field in sight, and cancelled the IFR flight plan.
A police officer reported that he observed an airplane fly over the city of Libby, which was north of the airport; the airplane then turned toward the airport. The officer went to the airport to investigate, but observed no airplane. He noted that it was foggy in town, but the airport was clear. He also observed that the rotating beacon was illuminated, but not the pilot controlled runway lighting.
The flight was reported overdue during the day; the wreckage was located at 18:35 on a tree covered slope.

The town and airport were located within a sparsely populated area that had limited lighting conditions, which, along with the clouds and 35 percent moon illumination, would have restricted the pilots visual references. These conditions likely led to his being geographically disoriented (lost) and his subsequent failure to maintain sufficient altitude to clear terrain. Although the pilot did not possess a valid pilots certificate, a review of his logbooks indicated that he had considerable experience flying the airplane, usually while accompanied by another pilot, and that he had flown in both visual and IFR conditions. A previous student pilot medical certificate indicated that the pilot was color blind and listed limitations for flying at night and for using color signals. The pilot had applied for another student pilot certificate 2 months before the accident, but this certificate was deferred pending a medical review.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The noncertificated pilots failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering to land in dark night conditions likely due to his geographic disorientation (lost). Contributing to the accident was the pilots improper decision to fly at night with a known visual limitation."

Accident investigation: