Lancair LC 40 550FG N6500Z

Summary

On 17 August 2014 at about 04:24 local time, a Lancair LC 40 550FG registered N6500Z, operated by River Bend Energy LLC, was involved in an accident near Ranger, Texas, 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

17 August 2014 at 04:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Ranger, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Cook Canyon Ranch (TA25)

Coordinates

32.4442, -98.5914

Aircraft

Lancair LC 40 550FG

Registration

N6500Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

2002

Engines

1

Operator

River Bend Energy LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ranger → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN14FA437

3 people died.

The pilot's loss of airplane control shortly after takeoff as a result of spatial disorientation due to dark night conditions, the pilot's low overall night and instrument flight time, and his lack of recent night flights.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instrument-rated private pilot and two passengers departed from the remote airport on a dark, moonless night. Two witnesses reported observing the airplane take off from the lighted runway and then turn right. The airplane's bank angle then slowly increased to about 90 degrees, and the airplane subsequently descended. The airplane impacted terrain 0.4 mile from the departure end of the runway. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.   Several highly experienced, full-time pilots departed the same airport before and after the accident airplane. These pilots described the flight conditions on departure as "extremely dark" and "like a black hole" with no ground lighting, moon, or stars in view to aid with visual orientation. The pilot's night flying currency was limited; his last night flight, flown with a flight instructor, occurred 11 months before the accident; he was also not current to fly at night with passengers. The majority of the pilot's night flying experience (about 24 total hours) took place in a large metropolitan area with high levels of ground lighting; therefore, the pilot's night and instrument flying experience (about 3 hours overall) was likely not sufficient to operate safely in the challenging dark night conditions that existed during the accident flight. An iPad, which displayed mapping information, was likely positioned in front of the right seat passenger. This location may have contributed to the pilot initially overbanking to the right as he may have turned to look at the map just after takeoff. Based on the dark night conditions and the lack of visual references at the time of the accident and the pilot's low overall night and instrument flight time and his lack of recent night flight experience, it is likely that he became spatially disoriented, which led to his loss of airplane control and the subsequent descent into terrain.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.