CESSNA P337H — Cape Elizabeth, ME

What happened

Prior to departing on a cross-country flight, the pilot contacted a flight service station. The pilot was informed that visual flight rules (VFR) flight was not recommended, and after obtaining a weather briefing he filed an instrument-flight-rules (IFR) flight plan. The airplane departed in visual meteorological conditions and the pilot subsequently informed air traffic control that he was experiencing a problem with the airplane's artificial horizon, and that he wanted to try to conduct the flight under VFR. Approximately 15 minutes later, the pilot requested activation of his IFR flight plan. The airplane was flying in instrument meteorological conditions with light to moderate precipitation when radar and radio communications were lost. Radar data indicated that the airplane's heading varied from southwest to northwest, with a turn to the southeast immediately prior to the loss of radar contact. The airplane maintained an altitude between 7,900 and 8,200 feet, except for the last recorded altitude reading, which was at 7,200 feet. The airplane impacted the Atlantic Ocean at a high rate of speed and was not recovered. Review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that its most recent annual inspection was conducted about 6 months prior to the accident.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.