Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB ERA20LA315
Vans RV9 — Steinhatchee, FL
| Date | September 13, 2020 |
| Location | Steinhatchee, FL |
| Aircraft | Vans RV9 (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Approach-IFR initial approach Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 29 |
| Pilot total time | Unknown |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Communication (personnel)-Lack of communication-ATC personnel
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-ATC personnel
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Convective weather-Thunderstorm-Decision related to condition
- Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Wing structure-(general)-Capability exceeded
What happened
The pilot was conducting an instrument flight rules cross-country flight into an area under the influence of a tropical storm, where rain showers and thunderstorms were forecast to prevail. About 1 hour and 45 minutes into the flight, the pilot requested to divert to an airport short of his destination due to weather. At that time, the tropical storm was located south of his position, with bands of rain showers and thunderstorms rotating counter-clockwise around it. The air traffic controller cleared the pilot for the approach; however, she did not provide any weather information to the pilot, to include the local altimeter setting, radar-depicted precipitation, weather advisories, or current destination weather as required by air traffic control directives. The pilot subsequently turned into an area of spiral rain bands, which was growing in size and intensity. The growing area of rain showers and thunderstorms was very unstable, with the potential for updrafts of about 12,000 ft/min. Radar and radio contact was subsequently lost, and wreckage of the airplane was located in the Gulf of Mexico, about 1 nautical mile offshore. Distribution of the wreckage and subsequent evidence observed during the postaccident wreckage examination were indicative of an in-flight breakup.
The pilot’s decision to initiate a flight into an area under the influence of a tropical storm, with forecast rain showers and thunderstorms, increased the potential for an encounter with significant convective weather. Given this information it is likely that the flight encountered strong updrafts while in the growing rain shower band and in instrument meteorological conditions, which ultimately resulted in a loss of control and an in-flight breakup. Had the pilot been provided timely information on the hazardous weather conditions, it is likely that the accident could have been prevented.