Rockwell NA-265-65 N265DS

Summary

On 13 April 2019 at about 20:14 local time, a Rockwell NA-265-65 registered N265DS, operated by Classic Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near New Albany, Mississippi, 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

13 April 2019 at 20:14

Classification

Accident

Location

New Albany, Mississippi, United States

Coordinates

34.3825, -88.9561

Aircraft

Rockwell NA-265-65

Registration

N265DS

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

2

Operator

Classic Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oxford → Hamilton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19FA119

3 people died.

An unidentified electrical system malfunction that led to the pilots losing awareness of the airplane's performance in instrument meteorological conditions and resulted in a loss of control of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Two instrument-rated commercial pilots and one passenger were conducting a cross-country flight in instrument meteorological conditions when they began discussing an electrical malfunction; they then reported the electrical problem to air traffic control. The airplane subsequently made a descending right turn and impacted wooded terrain at a high speed. Most components of the airplane were highly fragmented, impact damaged, and unidentifiable. Based on the limited discussion of the electrical problem on the cockpit voice recorder and the damage to the airplane, it was not possible to determine the specific nature of the electrical malfunction the airplane may have experienced. While it was not possible to determine which systems were impacted by the electrical malfunction, it is possible the flight instruments were affected. The airplane's descending, turning, flight path before impact is consistent with a system malfunction that either directly or indirectly (through a diversion of attention) led to the pilot's loss of  awareness of the airplane's performance in instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent loss of control of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.