Beechcraft A36TC N1804E

Summary

On 12 May 2017 at about 16:52 local time, a Beechcraft A36TC registered N1804E was involved in an accident near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 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

12 May 2017 at 16:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

36.9261, -87.6086

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36TC

Registration

N1804E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Davenport → Muscle Shoals

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17FA180

2 people died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot's intentional visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's overreliance on his limited instrument training.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated private pilot and the passenger were on a personal cross-country visual flight rules (VFR) flight in the airplane, and the pilot was in contact with air traffic control and receiving flight following services as he deviated due to weather along the route of flight. The pilot talked with a controller about diverting to a nearby airport, but he opted to continue, stating that the flight would likely be clear of the weather shortly based on the information he was receiving from his on-board equipment. Weather radar and satellite imagery indicated that the flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) before it departed from controlled flight and entered a steep descent that continued to terrain impact. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had received about 71 hours of simulated instrument flight training and had accumulated about 16 hours in actual instrument conditions, though his most recent instrument training flight was more than 1 year before the accident. The pilot's decision to continue VFR flight into IMC may have been influenced by an overreliance on his limited instrument training that led him to underestimate the difficulty of maintaining airplane control in actual instrument conditions. After the airplane entered IMC, the pilot likely experienced spatial disorientation and lost control of the airplane. Although the pilot was using two medications (imipramine and doxylamine) that may have affected his aeronautical decision-making and increased his susceptibility to spatial disorientation, it could not be determined whether effects from these drugs contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.