DFW08FA212

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane after an encounter with instrument meteorological conditions.

The pilot was taking two adult family members to the destination airport, which he had regularly flown to for years. Two witnesses at the airport said that it was "very foggy" with "no ceiling" and that the heaviest fog began approximately 20 to 30 minutes before the accident. The estimated visibility in the fog was approximately 1/2 mile. Witnesses at the airport said that they were inside their office when they heard an airplane coming toward them from the west. The witnesses ran outside after the airplane flew over their office "very low and very fast." The witnesses could not see the airplane, but heard it continue flying away from the airport to the east and heard a change in the sound that indicated "the plane was making a hard turn." Approximately ten seconds after hearing the change in sound, and while the witnesses were looking toward the sound of the airplane, they heard a "loud thump" or "thud" and almost immediately saw a ball of fire. No precrash anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot was rated, and the airplane was certified, for instrument-flight-rules flight, although no flight plan was filed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Denver air route traffic control center provided visual-flight-rules flight following to the pilot during the flight. The center's last radio contact with the pilot was at 0810, when the flight was approximately 20 miles southwest of the destination airport, after the pilot had terminated flight following. The investigation was unable to determine whether the pilot requested a formal weather briefing prior to the flight.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 24, 2008, approximately 0828 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Piper 24-250, N5476P, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Yuma, Colorado. The private pilot and his two passengers, were fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the time of the accident and a flight plan had not been filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed Pueblo Memorial Airport (PUB) Pueblo, Colorado, at approximately 0720 and was destined for Yuma Municipal Airport (2V6) Yuma, Colorado. The pilot was taking two adult family members from the PUB airport to visit other family members near the 2V6 airport. Witnesses said the pilot had flown out of the 2V6 airport quite often for many years. Witnesses at the 2V6 airport said they were inside their office when they heard an airplane coming toward them from the west. The witnesses ran outside after the airplane flew over their office "very low and very fast". The witnesses heard the airplane in the fog continue flying away from the airport to the east and they then heard a change in the sound that indicated "the plane was making a hard turn". Approximately ten seconds after hearing the change in sound, while the witnesses were looking toward the sound of the airplane hidden in the fog they heard a "loud thump" or "thud" and almost immediately saw a ball of fire. One of the witnesses immediately called 9-1-1 and the other witness went to the accident scene and directed first responders to the scene. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 63, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings. The pilot certificate was limited to aircraft with hand operated brakes and FAA approved hand operated rudder controls. The pilot was issued a third-class medical certificate on August 27, 2007, with a restriction that he must wear corrective lenses. The pilot’s most recent biennial flight review (BFR) was dated October 3, 2007 and he completed an instrument proficiency check on August 5, 2007. A review of the pilot’s logbook shows he had logged 3,410 hours, of which approximately 1,700 hours were in the accident airplane, and 68 hours were accrued in the preceding 90 days. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records show that the pilot was originally certificated on October 10, 1971 as a private pilot, airplane single-engine land, with no limitations. On March 23, 1983, he passed a special medical flight test and was issued a private pilot certificate, airplane single-engine land, “limited to PA 24-180, serial no. 1196 equipped with rudder hand controls”. At that time the pilot reported that he had logged a total of 198 hours. A review of the FAA records and the pilot’s logbooks show that he had logged 3,212 hours as a pilot in airplanes with hand operated rudder controls. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION N5476P (s.n. 24-525), a model 24-250, was manufactured by the Piper Aircraft Corporation in 1958. It was a low-wing, 4-place, single engine land airplane, powered by a Lycoming O-540-A1A5 engine (s.n. L-1084-40) rated at 250 horsepower, driving a McCauley 3-blade, constant speed, aluminum alloy propeller. The airplane was issued a standard airworthiness certificate on September 14, 2007, in the normal category. The airplane was registered to the owner on September 12, 1985. A review of the airplane maintenance records disclosed the last annual inspection was dated April 30, 2008, at a total airframe time of 6,020 hours. The airplane was equipped with an S-TEC autopilot, Garmin GNS-430 global positioning system (GPS), JPI engine analyzer, and was certificated for instrument flight. The airplane had been modified with the installation of several performance modifications, wing tip fuel tanks, and with a rudder hand control. The engine had been modified with the installation of a fuel injector system and an add-on turbocharger system. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION A surface analysis chart at 0900 depicted a high pressure system located over southwestern Colorado and north central New Mexico. A low pressure system was located over southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas with a frontal wave (warm front and cold front) extending to the east over southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. An extensive area of overcast skies and reduced visibility preceded ahead of the low associated with overrunning the warm front. The accident site was located north of the center of the low pressure system. Observations surrounding the area and witness statements at the accident site indicated IFR conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. At 0818, the automated surface observing system (ASOS) at Imperial Municipal Airport (IML), Imperial, Nebraska, located approximately 38 miles northeast of the accident site, reported the wind from 150 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, scattered clouds at 1,200 feet, overcast clouds at 2,300 feet, temperature 19 degrees Celsius, dew point 16 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.20 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at IML is 3,275 feet MSL. At 0753, the ASOS at Colorado Plains Regional Airport (AKO), Akron, Colorado, located approximately 43 miles west of the accident site, reported the wind from 130 degrees at 13 knots, visibility 1/4 statute mile in fog, overcast clouds at 100 feet, temperature 14 degrees Celsius, dew point 14 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.20 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at AKO is 4,714 feet MSL. At 0840, the ASOS at Renner Field (GLD), Goodland, Kansas, located approximately 50 miles southeast of the accident site, reported the wind from 140 degrees at 12 knots, visibility 6 statute miles in mist, overcast clouds at 300 feet, temperature 17 degrees Celsius, dew point 16 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.21 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at GLD is 3,656 feet MSL. At 0753, the ASOS at Kit Carson County Airport (ITR), Burlington, Colorado, located approximately 51 miles south of the accident site, reported the wind from 120 degrees at 11 knots, visibility 1/4 statute mile in fog, indefinite ceiling at 100 feet, temperature 16 degrees Celsius, dew point 14 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.21 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at ITR is 4,219 feet MSL. At 0755, the ASOS at Mc Cook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (MCK), McCook, Kansas, located approximately 76 miles east of the accident site, reported the wind from 100 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, broken clouds at 1,000 feet, overcast clouds at 1,400 feet, temperature 19 degrees Celsius, dew point 16 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.19 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at MCK is 2,583 feet MSL. At 0755, the ASOS at Limon Municipal Airport (LIC), Limon, Colorado, located approximately 82 miles southwest of the accident site, reported the wind variable at 3 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear of clouds, temperature 18 degrees Celsius, dew point 13 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.22 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at LIC is 5,374 feet MSL. At 0653 the ASOS at Pueblo Memorial Airport (PUB), Pueblo, Colorado, located approximately 151 miles southwest of the accident site, reported calm winds, visibility 10 statute miles, clear of clouds, temperature 15 degrees Celsius, dew point 14 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.17 inches of Mercury. The elevation of the reporting station at PUB is 4,726 feet MSL. At 0753 the ASOS at PUB reported calm winds, visibility 10 statute miles, clear of clouds, temperature 17 degrees Celsius, dew point 15 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 3