ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44496
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| Date: | Friday 20 May 2005 |
| Time: | 15:00 |
| Type: |  Bellanca 14-13-3 Cruisair Senior |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N6511N |
| MSN: | 1630 |
| Engine model: | Franklin 6A4-150-B3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Caliente, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Exeter, CA (O63) |
| Tehachapi, CA (TSP) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane impacted terrain while cruising in controlled flight (CFIT) after the pilot(s) reversed course upon encountering instrument meteorological conditions. Both of the pilots held commercial pilot certificates, but neither were instrument-rated. The flight was performed to relocate the airplane to the pilot-owner's home base airport. No witnesses to the accident were identified. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the departure airport beneath an overcast sky condition. Based on an evaluation of the weather conditions, the projected route between the departure and destination, and the impact heading of the airplane, and as the terrain elevation increased, the pilots most likely encountered less maneuvering room between the terrain and the overlying clouds, and they would have inadvertently entered instrument meteorological conditions. The pilots reversed course to a westerly direction and commenced flying back toward their departure airport. The underlying terrain was also obscured by clouds, and the airplane's clearance from the terrain was inadequate, resulting in a collision with mountainous terrain. A motorist, who held a private pilot certificate and was driving in a westerly direction near the accident site, reported that the roadway "was foggy" and his visibility was at most 1 mile. The motorist stated his elevation was about 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl). An examination of the accident site, elevation 2,380 feet msl, revealed the airplane impacted upsloping terrain while in a right bank, and with a near level pitch attitude. Thereafter, the airplane cart wheeled. The distance between the initial point of impact and the farthest component of wreckage was nearly 800 feet. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction was found.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance, which resulted in controlled flight into the terrain. Contributing factors were the pilots' delayed decision to reverse course, the low clouds which obscured the rising terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20050601X00700&key=1
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 06-Dec-2017 08:13 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
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