Commander 114-B N6059C

Summary

On 15 May 1998 at about 14:10 local time, a Commander 114-B registered N6059C was involved in an accident near Lagrange, Wisconsin, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 May 1998 at 14:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Lagrange, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

42.8291, -88.7309

Aircraft

Commander 114-B

Registration

N6059C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waukesha → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98FA153

4 people died.

the pilot not maintaining aircraft control during cruise flight and exceeding the airplane's design stress limits. Factors in this accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in the airplane and the clouds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident airplane's pilot obtained a weather briefing for the accident flight the night before the flight. He filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan with the intention of flying the airplane at 154 knots. The airplane departed on the IFR flight plan and climbed to 6,900 feet above mean sea level (MSL) and maintained that altitude for about four minutes while on a southwesterly heading. Weather information showed cloud bases and tops to be about 6,000 and 10,000 feet MSL respectively in the airplane's immediate vicinity. The altitude began to vary about 200 to 300 feet above and below 6,900 feet MSL. The airplane's ground track changed a number of times during the flight. The aircraft heading changed as much as 90 degrees while altitude changes were occurring. The last FAA air traffic control radar contact with the airplane showed the altitude to be 4,500 feet MSL and the heading to be opposite of its original heading. Ground witnesses reported hearing the airplane's engine accelerating and decelerating followed by a "... ka-boom..." sound. One said he saw the airplane coming out of the clouds nose first and pointing at the ground. Another said he saw the airplane come out of the clouds tumbling without its empennage. The on-scene examination revealed no pre-existing anomalies with the airframe. Before flying the accident airplane as pilot-in-command, the pilot received 11.6 hours of flight training in the aircraft. His total time in the airplane was 23.2 hours according to his logbook. The pilot's logbook showed he had 18.5 hours of actual instrument flight time and 41.4 hours of simulated instrument time. His logbook showed he had flown .6 hours of simulated instruments in the accident airplane before the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.