Cessna U206F N206KL

Summary

On 6 November 2013 at about 16:10 local time, a Cessna U206F registered N206KL, operated by McCall Aviation Inc., was involved in an accident near Donnelly, Idaho, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 November 2013 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Donnelly, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

44.7458, -115.8269

Aircraft

Cessna U206F

Registration

N206KL

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

McCall Aviation Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McCall → Lower Loon Cree

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14FA044

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering in likely low-ceiling and low-visibility conditions in mountainous terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before departing on the cross-country flight over mountainous terrain, the accident pilot and two other pilots going to the same remote airstrip discussed the weather and checked webcams positioned throughout the passes. The accident pilot took off first and flew south before turning east to cross the mountains, while the other two pilots chose to fly north before crossing the mountains. Inflight radio communications from the accident pilot indicated that when he first turned east to cross the mountains, he encountered weather that required him to turn around and fly further south before turning east again. No further radio communications from the accident pilot were heard. The other two pilots reported encountering marginal weather with low clouds during their flights to the destination, which they completed without incident. Flight track data downloaded from the accident airplane's onboard GPS unit indicated that, during the final 40 seconds of the flight, the airplane made a left turn of about 90 degrees followed by a right turn of about 180 degrees while maintaining an altitude of about 8,150 ft. This flightpath suggests that the pilot was following the contour of the horseshoe-shaped ridgeline at that location. However, the ridgeline varied in elevation between about 8,000 and 8,200 ft, and the airplane impacted steep, heavily wooded terrain about 100 ft below the top of the ridgeline. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Due to the location of the accident site, weather reporting stations and weather products were limited. Satellite imagery did not show low-level clouds because of a mid-level cloud layer at 15,000 ft. A weather model run to simulate relative humidity over the accident site revealed that the lower altitudes above terrain likely had a much lower visibility with relative humidity greater than 98%. Thus, it is likely that the pilot was maneuvering the airplane in or near low clouds when he lost visual contact with the ground resulting in controlled flight into terrain.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.