Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB WPR17FA200
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY G36 — Benicia, CA
| Date | September 9, 2017 |
| Location | Benicia, CA |
| Aircraft | RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY G36 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 67 |
| Pilot total time | 528 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | 3 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience w/ equipment-Pilot
What happened
The private pilot and passenger departed for a personal cross-country flight. Radar data indicated that the flight track after takeoff was consistent with the course to the destination airport. During the first few minutes of flight, the radar data indicated that the airplane was in a climb. However, during the last 2 minutes of flight, as the airplane neared its level-off altitude, the airplane's speed had decreased and was approaching the stall speed, which was between 68 and 73 knots, depending on the airplane's bank. The calibrated airspeed was calculated to be about 62 knots at the last radar return. At that time, the airplane had entered a right turn and was rapidly descending. The airplane impacted terrain about 9 miles from the departure airport.
Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Signatures at the accident site and the damage to the airplane indicated a near vertical impact, which was consistent with an aerodynamic stall.