ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 45975
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| Date: | Saturday 31 March 2001 |
| Time: | 09:40 |
| Type: |  Rutan VariEze |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N49LK |
| MSN: | 376 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 606 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-235-C1B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Pinson, AL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Tuscaloosa, AL (TCL) |
| Gadsden, AL (GAD) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight departed Tuscaloosa, Alabama, enroute to Gadsden, Alabama. When the flight did not arrive, search and rescue operations were initiated. The airplane wreckage was located on April 6, 2001, at about the 1,000 foot msl level, on the west side of Village Mountain, near Pinson, Alabama. Examination of the crash site showed the airplane had flown from a valley, easterly, into rising terrain. The airplane crashed into trees while in cruise flight and came to rest about 100 feet from the top of the mountain. All components of the airplane were located at the crash site. Post crash examination of the aircraft structure, flight controls, engine, and propeller, showed no evidence of precrash failure or malfunction. The Birmingham International Airport surface observation taken about 13 minutes after the accident was clouds 500 feet overcast with visibility 3 miles in drizzle. Birmingham is located 15 statute miles south-southeast of the accident site, at an elevation of 636 feet msl. The person who lives in the residence adjacent to the accident site reported that on the day of the accident the clouds obscured the mountain and visibility was low all day. The FAA had no record that the pilot had received a weather briefing from an FAA facility.
Probable Cause: The pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions resulting in the airplane colliding with mountainous terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20010412X00739&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] |
| 10-Dec-2017 10:47 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
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