ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 38048
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| Date: | Saturday 16 September 1989 |
| Time: | 14:40 |
| Type: |  Rockwell Commander 112B |
| Owner/operator: | Frank Spevak |
| Registration: | N1232J |
| MSN: | 502 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | La Grange, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | S Lake Tahoe, CA (LTA) |
| Burbank, CA (BUR) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
BEFORE DEPG ON THE ACDNT FLT, THE PLT OBTAINED A WX BRIEFING & WAS ADVISED OF RAIN SHOWERS ALONG HIS ENTIRE ROUTE. ALSO, HE WAS WARNED OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT ALL OF CALIFORNIA. HE FILED A VFR FLT PLAN & TOOK OFF. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, HE ACTIVATED THE FLT PLAN, THEN THERE WAS NO FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH THE ACFT. ABOUT 1 HR LATER, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED FLYING AT LOW ALTITUDE. AS THE ACFT APCHD A SIGN, IT WAS OBSERVED TO ENTER A CLIMB & DISAPPEAR IN A LOW CLOUD LAYER. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, IT WAS OBSERVED BY ANOTHER WITNESS IN A DIVE AS IT DESCENDED BELOW THE CLOUDS. MOMENTS LATER, THE ACFT CRASHED IN A LAKE. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED THE WATER WITH VERY HIGH VELOCITY. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT HAD ONLY ABOUT 3 HRS OF INSTRUMENT FLT TIME. WITNESSES RPRTD THUNDERSTORMS & LIGHTNING IN THE AREA; THEY ESTIMATED THERE WAS ABOUT A 500 FT OBSCURATION WITH 1/2 MI VISIBILITY, BLOWING RAIN & WIND FROM 135 DEG AT 15 GUSTING 20 KTS. CAUSE: CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEORLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) BY THE PILOT, WHICH RESULTED IN SPATIAL DISORIENTATION AND LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL. RELATED FACTORS WERE: FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER BY THE PILOT, THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE PILOT'S LACK OF INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CAPABILITIES.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001213X29400
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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