Beechcraft E 90 N48TA

Summary

On 14 June 2017 at about 04:10 local time, a Beechcraft E 90 registered N48TA was involved in an accident near Ruidoso, New Mexico, 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

14 June 2017 at 04:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Ruidoso, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Sierra Blanca Regional Airport (SRR)

Coordinates

33.4531, -105.5431

Aircraft

Beechcraft E 90

Registration

N48TA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ruidoso → Abilene

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN17FA227

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain after takeoff during dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot had filed an instrument flight rules flight plan and was departing in dark night visual meteorological conditions on a cross-country personal flight. A witness at the departure airport stated that during takeoff, the airplane sounded and looked normal. The witness said that the airplane lifted off about halfway down runway 24, and there was "plenty" of runway remaining for the airplane to land. The witness lost sight of the airplane and did not see the accident because the airport hangars blocked her view. The wreckage was located about 2,400 ft southeast of the departure end of runway 24. Examination of the accident site indicated that the airplane impacted in a nose-down attitude with a left bank of about 20°. A left turn during departure was consistent with the airport's published instrument departure procedures for obstacle avoidance, which required an immediate climbing left turn while proceeding to a navigational beacon located about 7 miles east-northeast of the airport. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had reportedly been awake for about 15 hours and was conducting the departure about the time he normally went to sleep and, therefore, may have been fatigued about the time of the event; however, given the available evidence, it was impossible to determine the role of fatigue in this event. Although the circumstances of the accident are consistent with spatial disorientation, there was insufficient evidence to determine whether it may have played a role in the sequence of events.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.