Cessna 190 N1055D

Summary

On 7 April 2001 at about 17:50 local time, a Cessna 190 registered N1055D was involved in an accident near Lurton, Arkansas, 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

7 April 2001 at 17:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Lurton, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

35.7525, -93.1036

Aircraft

Cessna 190

Registration

N1055D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Derby → Tupelo

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01FA095

2 people died.

the pilot's continued VFR flight into IMC, which resulted in spatial disorientation and the ensuing loss of aircraft control while in cruise flight. Contributory factors were the haze and fog weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated private pilot was flying at 7,500 feet on a cross-country flight when he reported to air traffic control (ATC) that he wanted to descend due to "haze." The flight descended to 5,200 feet and the pilot requested another descent; however, ATC informed the pilot that they would not have radar contact with the airplane below 5,500 feet. The pilot elected to stay at 5,500 feet and repeated that it was hazy. The final radar data depicted the airplane descending and making a right corkscrew ground track. A witness, who was located in the vicinity of the accident site, heard the sound of a "motor speed up," and heard an aircraft clear a ridge and impact the ground. After the impact, he saw the "flash of a fire ball." The witness added that it was "too foggy" to see the airplane. According to local residents, the weather was foggy and misty at the time of the accident. The airplane's outboard wing sections separated in overload and came to rest in trees on the north side of a ridge. The fuselage impacted trees and terrain on the south side of the ridge approximately 0.2 miles from the outboard wing sections. Its measured descent angle was 50 degrees. All of the control cable and structural separations were consistent with an overload failure. It is unknown how much, if any, instrument or simulated instrument flight time the pilot had accumulated. Metabolites of cocaine were found in the pilot's muscle tissue; however, it could not be determined when the pilot may have used cocaine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.