Aeropro Cz A240 N72AH

Summary

On 15 October 2012 at about 12:15 local time, a Aeropro Cz A240 registered N72AH was involved in an accident near Half Moon Bay, California, 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

15 October 2012 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Half Moon Bay, California, United States

Nearest airport

Half Moon Bay Airport (HAF)

Coordinates

37.5103, -122.5053

Aircraft

Aeropro Cz A240

Registration

N72AH

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Half Moon Bay → Apple Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13FA013

1 person died.

The non-instrument-rated pilot’s decision to depart into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of airplane control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was departing on a cross-country flight about the time of a reported ¾ mile visibility, mist and a 300 foot overcast ceiling.  Recorded radar data identified the airplane during the initial takeoff ascending and turning left to an altitude of 1,100 feet mean sea level (msl). As the left turn continued to an easterly heading, the airplane descended to an altitude of about 600 feet msl. The last recorded radar target was less than a 1/4 mile from the accident site. The wreckage was located about 400 yards west of the airport on a bluff that overlooked and paralleled the runway. Examination of the accident site revealed ground scars and airplane damage consistent with a descent profile continuing to impact. Analyses of weather information and witness statements were consistent with conditions likely to have produced restricted visibility over the area at the time of the accident. These restricted visibility conditions would have been conducive to the development of spatial disorientation, and the pilot’s subsequent loss of airplane control while turning, most likely in an attempt to return to the runway.  A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.   

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.