Van's RV9 N4889R

Summary

On 13 September 2020 at about 16:15 local time, a Van's RV9 registered N4889R was involved in an accident near Steinhatchee, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 September 2020 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Steinhatchee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Cross City Airport (NONE)

Coordinates

29.7000, -83.5167

Aircraft

Van's RV9

Registration

N4889R

Category

Airplane

Year built

2003

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gulf Shores → Cross City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20LA315

2 people died.

The failure of the air traffic controller to provide hazardous weather information to the pilot, resulting in the flight’s encounter with strong updraft conditions, an inflight loss of airplane control, and an in-flight breakup. Contributing was the pilot’s decision to initiate a flight into an area under the influence of a tropical storm, with forecast rain showers and thunderstorms, which increased the potential for an encounter with significant convective weather

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting an instrument flight rules cross-country flight into an area under the influence of a tropical storm, where rain showers and thunderstorms were forecast to prevail. About 1 hour and 45 minutes into the flight, the pilot requested to divert to an airport short of his destination due to weather. At that time, the tropical storm was located south of his position, with bands of rain showers and thunderstorms rotating counter-clockwise around it. The air traffic controller cleared the pilot for the approach; however, she did not provide any weather information to the pilot, to include the local altimeter setting, radar-depicted precipitation, weather advisories, or current destination weather as required by air traffic control directives. The pilot subsequently turned into an area of spiral rain bands, which was growing in size and intensity. The growing area of rain showers and thunderstorms was very unstable, with the potential for updrafts of about 12,000 ft/min. Radar and radio contact was subsequently lost, and wreckage of the airplane was located in the Gulf of Mexico, about 1 nautical mile offshore. Distribution of the wreckage and subsequent evidence observed during the postaccident wreckage examination were indicative of an in-flight breakup. The pilot’s decision to initiate a flight into an area under the influence of a tropical storm, with forecast rain showers and thunderstorms, increased the potential for an encounter with significant convective weather. Given this information it is likely that the flight encountered strong updrafts while in the growing rain shower band and in instrument meteorological conditions, which ultimately resulted in a loss of control and an in-flight breakup. Had the pilot been provided timely information on the hazardous weather conditions, it is likely that the accident could have been prevented.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.