Date:	Wednesday 11 August 2010
Time:	08:55
Type:	Aero Commander 500B
Owner/operator:	Vessels Frank N
Registration:	N500FV
MSN:	500A-1248-73
Year of manufacture:	1962
Total airframe hrs:	5375 hours
Engine model:	Continental IO-470
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Steens Mountain, about 80 miles south of Burns, OR -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Redding, WA (KRDD)
Destination airport:	Butte, MT (KBTM)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The evening prior to the accident, the pilot acquired a computer generated text weather briefing. On the day of the accident, the pilot acquired another computer generated text weather briefing, and then contacted the Flight Service Station (FSS) for an interactive telephonic weather briefing. The information provided in all three briefings indicated that a flight on a direct route between the pilot's point of departure and his planned destination would take him through an area of forecast rain showers, thunderstorms, and cloud tops significantly higher than his intended en route altitude. Although the FSS briefer recommended an alternate route, for which he provided weather information, after departure the pilot flew directly toward his destination airport. While en route, the pilot, who was not instrument rated, encountered instrument meteorological conditions, within which there was an 80 percent probability of icing. After entering the area of instrument meteorological conditions, the airplane was seen exiting the bottom of an overcast cloud layer with a significant portion of its left wing missing. It then made a high velocity steep descent into the terrain. A postaccident inspection of the airplane's structure did not find any evidence of an anomaly that would contribute to the separation of the wing structure, and it is most likely that the wing section separated as a result of the airplane exceeding its structural limitations after the pilot lost control in the instrument meteorological conditions.
Probable Cause: The non-instrument rated pilot's improper decision to continue flight into an area of known instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain control of the airplane after entering those conditions.

NTSB
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/aug/11/plane-registered-bonsall-breeder-crashes-oregon/
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/11/AR2010081106823.html]
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N500FV/history/20100810/2013Z/KPMD/KRDD

[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.myaviation.net/search/photo_search.php?id=01632180&size=large] (photo)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Aug-2010 07:16	RobertMB	Added
12-Aug-2010 17:45	RobertMB	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
13-Aug-2010 04:00	harro	Updated [Cn, Destination airport, Source]
13-Aug-2010 11:03	RobertyMB	Updated [Cn, Source, Narrative]
21-Dec-2016 19:25	ASN Update Bot	Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
26-Nov-2017 18:04	ASN Update Bot	Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]