Weather (Other) · NTSB CEN09FA097
Hawker Beechcraft 58P — Stonewall, CO
| Date | December 21, 2008 |
| Location | Stonewall, CO |
| Aircraft | Hawker Beechcraft 58P |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night/Dark · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Enroute Other weather encounter |
| Pilot age | 67 |
| Pilot total time | 1,634 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | 400 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Downdraft-Effect on equipment - C
What happened
The pilot maneuvered the twin-engine pressurized airplane to a level attitude about 18,000 feet mean sea level (msl). Approximately 30 minutes later, while approaching the downwind side of a ridge of mountains, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted mountainous terrain. During the last radio transmissions from the pilot, he reported having serious difficulties; however, he was unsure of the exact nature of the problem. Following the loss of radar contact, a pilot from a passing airplane approached the accident area and located the wreckage. As the pilot circled the wreckage, he encountered a mountain wave event and elected to depart the area. A meteorological study of weather conditions in the accident area indicated the potential for severe mountain wave activity at the time of the accident. There were also numerous pilot reports specifically identifying encounters with mountain waves and/or severe or extreme turbulence at flight levels close to the accident area. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.