The Piper PA-30 departed Mineral Wells Regional Airport (KMWL) in Texas, with a destination of Fairmont, Nebraska.
Radar and ADS-B data indicated that the airplane first appeared at 1509 about 1.5 nautical miles west of KMWL. The airplane tracked north and climbed initially to a cruise altitude of 8,500 feet and then later climbed to 16,500 feet.
The airplane began a descent after it passed over Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma, and turned momentarily to the east. The airplane then turned west and back to the north while it descended.
The ground speed decreased from over 200 knots to under 100 kts. About 1631, and five miles southwest of Pond Creek, Oklahoma, Mode C position reporting data was lost followed by the loss of all track data.
The airplane was not in contact, nor was it required to be in contact, with air traffic control.
A witness in the area reported he heard what sounded like a motocross bike engine revving to full throttle. He then looked up and saw what he initially thought was a weather balloon coming straight down. He realized it was an airplane and began to video the airplane in its descent.
The video showed the airplane was in a right-hand nose-down spin. It showed the airplane descend until, moments before impacting terrain, it became obscured by tall grass.
The accident site was located across several fields about six miles southwest of Pond Creek. The main wreckage was located on the west side of a creek bed in a field. The elevation of the accident site was about 1,100 feet and the terrain was predominately flat and consisted of tall grass.
The wreckage was crushed aft, fragmented, and showed evidence of a near-vertical impact.
The plane was destroyed and the pilot and two passengers died in the crash.
Doppler radar imagery from 13 miles northwest of the accident location revealed light values of reflectivity along the final portion of the airplane’s flight path and in the immediate vicinity of the accident location.
A High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) Model provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Air Resources Laboratory and analyzed by the RAwinsonde OBservation (ROAB) program showed the potential for clouds above 9,000 feet. The freezing level was noted at about 8,800 feet. The potential for significant turbulence was between about 15,400 and 17,400 feet, and for light rime icing between about 15,400 feet and 19,400 feet.
Visible and infrared data satellite imagery from a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-16 was obtained from the Space Science Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Visual imagery showed cloudy conditions across the region.
Infrared imagery depicted minimum brightness temperatures of -25°C over the accident location, which when considering the HRRR sounding corresponded to cloud top heights near 21,000 ft.
The pilot’s flight instructor, who was also the Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic who maintained the airplane, reported that he instructed the pilot through his multiengine land rating. The flight instructor stated he tried to get the pilot to get his instrument rating, but the pilot was too busy.
The A&P also reported the airplane had an oxygen system and it had been serviced. He reported that if the airplane had oxygen masks or cannulas, they were not on the airplane, and that he could recall only one time where he observed the pilot use supplemental oxygen on a cross-country flight.
The airplane’s oxygen bottle was located on the east side of the creek bed 14 feet south of the main wreckage. The oxygen ports in the cabin did not show that oxygen masks or cannulas had been connected and no oxygen masks or cannulas were found in the wreckage.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s loss of control of the airplane, resulting in an in-flight breakup.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This March 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
So, are we looking at at least slight asphyxia that resulted in neglect to maintain airspeed which translated into a stalled aircraft that the pilot, potentially due to asphyxia, couldn’t think clearly enough to correct?
I watched the video and it seemed that the airplane was in a perfectly helpless stall. I would hope that they were all unconscious to impact, but the witness claim if hearing the motor “revving to full throttle” seems to throw this into question in my unprofessional opinion. Please tell me what y’all think.
At the 16,500 ft he was flying at, hypoxia would have had him unconscious in 20-25 minutes, along with the passengers.
Without the autopilot on, the aircraft would eventually roll off on a wing and enter a spiral dive….
His disregard for the regs that oxygen is required above 12,500, and flying above that altitude without, was unfortunate.
As we age, our need for supplemental oxygen increases. The FAA’s 12,500’ limit for pilots is too high for a near 60 year old. While the NTSB didn’t want to say definitely that hypoxia was a cause, I have no doubt. That and a non-IR pilot in IMC, and the outcome was predictable.
Yes indeed, each and everyone of us are identical at any given age. Quite laughable, not to mention irresponsible, mindless stereotyping to your deficient standards.
I’m not sure the low-time, 59-year-old pilot’s grieving family would appreciate the GAN jury’s determination that he was “stupid” and had “misplaced priorities”.
Regardless, we do know he made a series of unfortunate decisions that resulted in him …possibly …experiencing hypoxia, falling victim to spacial disorientation, losing control, and being unable to recover from the ensuing spin.
I’ve done a few spins and conducted a bit of spin recovery training.
It’s tough to recover from a spin if you’re experiencing even minor symptoms of hypoxia.
OTOH:
It’s impossible if you’re incapacitated.
Or unconscious.
Let’s hope that …mercifully …was the case.
If you’ve never actually seen an airplane come apart in-flight, watch the video closely.
Is there a link to the video?
At the end of the article above, find….
“Probable Cause: The pilot’s loss of control of the airplane, resulting in an in-flight breakup.
NTSB Identification: 104794”
Click on this NTSB link to access the entire final NTSB docket.
Go to Docket Item #5, “Airplanes Descent” and click on “View”.
This crash, from what I’ve read in the NTSB reports was more likely caused by insufficient oxigenation of the pilot in that the plane was not presuriezed and they were not on O2
above 14,000 feet. Throw in rime icing and thin clouds… so this pilot lost control of the aircraft and didn’t have sufficient ability to think due to his brain being deprived of oxygen.
Do some training where you get low O2 sat and see how poorly you do at simple addition or tying your shoes. An instrument rating would not have solved this in my opinion.
“The flight instructor stated he tried to get the pilot to get his instrument rating, but the pilot was too busy..” Misplaced priorities cost those lives.
/J
Can’t fix stupid! Furthermore all pilots need real spin training. If you haven’t done it, get it. Every month we have 3 to 4 crashes do to stall/spins. Before I was allowed to solo at age 15 in a glider I had to put the glider into a spin and recover. Saved me in later years when a student spin my V35 bonanza accidentally. Talking about spins does nothing! Actions is what it takes. The problem is you don’t know what you don’t know and that will kill you! Same with not understanding engine out landings that pilots keep messing up. No one should ever die in a plane!!!
Nothing against it, been there and done that, but you’d probably be surprised how seldom spin training would save the day.
Scott, even only one save would be worth it, right?
We can stretch that philosophy to not flying at all, or not for other than dire emergency circumstances
Scott: No we. You.
Not