Bellanca 14-13-3 N6511N

Summary

On 20 May 2005 at about 22:00 local time, a Bellanca 14-13-3 registered N6511N was involved in an accident near Caliente, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 May 2005 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Caliente, California, United States

Coordinates

35.2889, -118.5936

Aircraft

Bellanca 14-13-3

Registration

N6511N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Exeter → Tehachapi

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05FA184

2 people died.

The pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance, which resulted in controlled flight into the terrain. Contributing factors were the pilots' delayed decision to reverse course, the low clouds which obscured the rising terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted terrain while cruising in controlled flight (CFIT) after the pilot(s) reversed course upon encountering instrument meteorological conditions. Both of the pilots held commercial pilot certificates, but neither were instrument-rated. The flight was performed to relocate the airplane to the pilot-owner's home base airport. No witnesses to the accident were identified. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the departure airport beneath an overcast sky condition. Based on an evaluation of the weather conditions, the projected route between the departure and destination, and the impact heading of the airplane, and as the terrain elevation increased, the pilots most likely encountered less maneuvering room between the terrain and the overlying clouds, and they would have inadvertently entered instrument meteorological conditions. The pilots reversed course to a westerly direction and commenced flying back toward their departure airport. The underlying terrain was also obscured by clouds, and the airplane's clearance from the terrain was inadequate, resulting in a collision with mountainous terrain. A motorist, who held a private pilot certificate and was driving in a westerly direction near the accident site, reported that the roadway "was foggy" and his visibility was at most 1 mile. The motorist stated his elevation was about 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl). An examination of the accident site, elevation 2,380 feet msl, revealed the airplane impacted upsloping terrain while in a right bank, and with a near level pitch attitude. Thereafter, the airplane cart wheeled. The distance between the initial point of impact and the farthest component of wreckage was nearly 800 feet. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction was found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.