Gulfstream American AA-5A N26886

Summary

On 21 May 2015 at about 22:54 local time, a Gulfstream American AA-5A registered N26886, operated by Wright-Hanger Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Rowdy, Kentucky, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 May 2015 at 22:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Rowdy, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Wendell H Ford (CPF)

Coordinates

37.3892, -83.2433

Aircraft

Gulfstream American AA-5A

Registration

N26886

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Wright-Hanger Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aiken → Hazard

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15FA220

1 person died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules flight in instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated private pilot was nearing the destination airport at the end of a cross-country flight. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) were widespread in the vicinity of the destination, and several witnesses stated that the weather conditions were misty, foggy, and rainy at the time of the accident. However, the extent to which the pilot had familiarized himself with the weather conditions along the route of flight before takeoff could not be determined, as there was no record of a weather briefing from an official, access-controlled source. Radar data showed the airplane on a northerly heading at a cruise altitude about 7,000 ft above ground level (agl). The airplane passed west of the airport as it continued north, then entered a descending right turn in the direction of the airport. The airplane conducted a series of descending right and left turns east of the airport until radar contact was lost at an altitude about 5,600 ft agl in the vicinity of the accident site. The pilot did not contact air traffic control at any time during the flight. The airplane came to rest in heavily wooded, hilly terrain and was highly fragmented. There was no evidence of an in-flight breakup, or of pre- or postimpact fire. Several angularly-cut tree branches along the wreckage path indicated that the engine was producing power at the time of impact. A postaccident examination of the airplane and the engine revealed no evidence of any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot was operating in visual meteorological conditions above the clouds until he neared the destination airport, at which time he attempted to descend through IMC in order to land. The fact that the pilot did not hold an instrument rating and had received only minimal training in instrument flight significantly increased his susceptibility to the sensory illusions associated with instrument flight. Given the reduced visibility conditions and the radar flight track of the airplane, it is likely that the pilot experienced spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of control as he attempted to descend through IMC and locate the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.