Pilatus PC-12/45 N68PK

Summary

On 16 January 2013 at about 10:56 local time, a Pilatus PC-12/45 registered N68PK, operated by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, was involved in an accident near Burlington, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 January 2013 at 10:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Burlington, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Burlington-Alamance Regional (BUY)

Coordinates

36.1136, -79.4206

Aircraft

Pilatus PC-12/45

Registration

N68PK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1999

Engines

1

Operator

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Morristown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA13FA115

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control due to spatial disorientation during the initial climb after takeoff in night instrument flight rules conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed in night instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions on a medical specimen transport flight. During the climb, an air traffic controller told the pilot that the transponder code he had selected (2501) was incorrect and instructed him to reset the transponder to a different code (2531). Shortly thereafter, the airplane reached a maximum altitude of about 3,300 ft and then entered a descending right turn. The airplane's enhanced ground proximity warning system recorded a descent rate of 11,245 ft per minute, which triggered two "sink rate, pull up" warnings. The airplane subsequently climbed from an altitude of about 1,400 ft to about 2,000 ft before it entered another turning descent and impacted the ground about 5 miles northeast of the departure airport. The airplane was fragmented and strewn along a debris path that measured about 800-ft long and 300-ft wide. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded the pilot from controlling the airplane. The engine did not display any evidence of preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. An open resistor was found in the flight computer that controlled the autopilot. It could not be determined if the open resistor condition existed during the flight or occurred during the impact. If the resistor was in an open condition at the time of autopilot engagement, the autopilot would appear to engage with a mode annunciation indicating engagement, but the pitch and roll servos would not engage. The before taxiing checklist included checks of the autopilot system to verify autopilot function before takeoff. It could not be determined if the pilot performed the autopilot check before the accident flight or if the autopilot was engaged at the time of the accident. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the known effects of spatial disorientation. Dark night IFR conditions prevailed, and the track of the airplane suggests a loss of attitude awareness. Although the pilot was experienced in night instrument conditions, it is possible that an attempt to reset the transponder served as an operational distraction that contributed to a breakdown in his instrument scan. Similarly, if the autopilot's resistor was in an open condition and the autopilot had been engaged, the pilot's failure to detect an autopilot malfunction in a timely manner could have contributed to spatial disorientation and the resultant loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.