Narrative:
Flight 8315 departed Memphis (MEM) at 04:13 for a cargo flight to Bowling Green, KY. The aircraft was flying level at an altitude of about 9000 feet, on the Nashville VOR 315-degree radial, about 25 nm (46 km), when radio and radar contact was lost. It appeared that the Caravan had experienced a slow reduction of airspeed from 135 knots to 102 kts in the final 8 minutes of flight at altitude, and then abruptly exhibited a sharp nose down pitch attitude with a rapid increase in airspeed. The airplane impacted on a downward slope (20-25 deg) of a small ridge that formed the northern side of a valley that ran east-west, at an elevation of about 470 feet.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot did not maintain control of the airplane due to undetected airframe ice, resulting in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with the ground. Factors in this accident were; flight into clouds, below freezing temperatures, and the inability of the pilot to detect ice, due to the lack of an ice detection system to determine ice build up on portions of the airframe that are not visible from the cockpit. "
Loss of control
» NTSB
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Thursday 5 March 1998 |
| Time: | 05:20 |
| Type: |  Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster |
| Operating for: | Baron Aviation |
| Leased from: | FedEx |
| Registration: | N840FE |
| MSN: | 208B0142 |
| First flight: | 1988 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4079 |
| Engines: | 1 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 14 km (8.8 mls) ESE of Clarksville, TN ( United States of America)
|
| Crash site elevation: | 143 m (469 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Memphis International Airport, TN (MEM/KMEM), United States of America |
| Bowling Green-Warren County Airport, KY (BWG/KBWG), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | 8315 |
Flight 8315 departed Memphis (MEM) at 04:13 for a cargo flight to Bowling Green, KY. The aircraft was flying level at an altitude of about 9000 feet, on the Nashville VOR 315-degree radial, about 25 nm (46 km), when radio and radar contact was lost. It appeared that the Caravan had experienced a slow reduction of airspeed from 135 knots to 102 kts in the final 8 minutes of flight at altitude, and then abruptly exhibited a sharp nose down pitch attitude with a rapid increase in airspeed. The airplane impacted on a downward slope (20-25 deg) of a small ridge that formed the northern side of a valley that ran east-west, at an elevation of about 470 feet.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot did not maintain control of the airplane due to undetected airframe ice, resulting in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with the ground. Factors in this accident were; flight into clouds, below freezing temperatures, and the inability of the pilot to detect ice, due to the lack of an ice detection system to determine ice build up on portions of the airframe that are not visible from the cockpit. "
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Classification:
IcingLoss of control
Sources:
» ICAO Adrep Summary 3/98 (#52)» 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 Memphis International Airport, TN to Bowling Green-Warren County Airport, KY as the crow flies is 382 km (239 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.
Distance from Memphis International Airport, TN to Bowling Green-Warren County Airport, KY as the crow flies is 382 km (239 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the 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.
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