Howe/Wilmer LANCAIR 360 N360WH

Summary

On 2 June 2006 at about 15:00 local time, a Howe/Wilmer LANCAIR 360 registered N360WH was involved in an accident near Montgomery, New York, 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

2 June 2006 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Montgomery, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Orange County (MGJ)

Coordinates

41.4533, -74.2733

Aircraft

Howe/Wilmer LANCAIR 360

Registration

N360WH

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Milford → Montgomery

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC06LA136

1 person died.

A loss of control during approach for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instrument rated pilot was conducting a planned 20 minute flight in the amateur built airplane that he owned, under instrument meteorological conditions. Approximately 5 minutes after being cleared for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach, the airplane's radar target disappeared. There were no distress calls made by the pilot, and the airplane's radar track was observed to deviate to the right, prior to the last radar return. The airplane impacted terrain in a wooded area about 4 miles south-southwest of the airport. A wreckage path was oriented on a heading of 230 degrees, and damage to trees in the surrounding area was consistent with an approximate 60-degree descent angle. Examination of the fiberglass constructed airframe did not provide any evidence of obvious preimpact mechanical malfunctions; however, the highly fragmented nature of the wreckage was difficult to examine. No preimpact engine malfunctions were observed. The airplane's most recent condition inspection was performed about 1 month prior to the accident. At that time, the airplane had been operated for 1,024 total hours. It was estimated that the airplane had been operated for about 400 hours since it was purchased by the pilot. The pilot had accumulated about 890 hours of total flight experience at the time of the accident, and had logged a total of 189 "instrument approaches," which included several prior ILS approaches to the same approach utilized during the accident. The weather reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, was: variable winds at 6 knots; visibility 9 statute miles; ceiling 700 feet overcast; temperature 19 degrees Celsius (C); dew point 17 degrees C; altimeter 29.90 inches of mercury.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.