WPR17FA055

The pilot's controlled flight into mountainous terrain while attempting to operate under visual flight rules in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).

The instrument-rated private pilot/owner regularly used the airplane to commute for work between his home airport and an airport located about 80 miles to the south. On the day of the accident, the pilot departed his home airport and, about 5 minutes after takeoff, established the airplane on a direct course towards an aeronautical navigation beacon that was located on a mountain peak about 28 nautical miles south of the airport, at an elevation of 5,793 ft mean sea level (msl). After takeoff, the airplane initially climbed to about 7,300 ft msl, then descended to about 6,500 ft msl, before ultimately descending to about 5,750 ft msl, where it remained for the last several minutes of the flight. The pilot was not in radio communication with any air traffic control (ATC) facility during the flight, and had not filed a flight plan, but the airplane had been tracked by ground-based ATC radar. The ATC radar track data ended near the accident site. Both radar and the data from the pilot's onboard GPS device showed that the airplane remained in about straight and level flight for at least 8 minutes before the impact. The wreckage was located about 70 ft below the mountain peak. Ground scars and airplane damage indicated that the airplane was in level flight, with significant engine power, at the time of impact. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact mechanical deficiencies or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Available medical information revealed no evidence of pilot incapacitation. Meteorological conditions at an airport near the accident location suggested that an overcast ceiling of about 4,750 ft msl was present near the accident site. That ceiling would have obscured the peak, and would have been about 1,000 ft lower than the impact point elevation. It is likely that the pilot flew into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), which obscured the peak from his view as he attempted to cross the mountain range. The investigation was unable to determine whether the pilot entered IMC intentionally or unintentionally, or how long the airplane was operating in IMC before impact. The investigation was unable to determine why the pilot was operating on a track at an altitude that did not provide terrain clearance, even if he did intentionally enter IMC without operating under instrument flight rules. Because the ATC radar and GPS altitudes for the flight were congruent, altimetry malfunctions and errors can be eliminated as causal factors. The pilot's GPS unit was capable of providing both visual and aural terrain/obstacle alerts, but the terrain and alert configuration settings of the GPS were not able to be determined. It is possible that the pilot either ignored or deactivated those features, and thereby deprived himself of those protection capabilities. Such a deactivation could have been the result of the pilot's comfort level with flying in that region, or it could have been inadvertent. Although the investigation could not determine what assumptions, tools, or methods the pilot used to ensure adequate terrain clearance for the accident flight, the pilot had sufficient and accurate information available, or potentially available, to enable him to avoid terrain. All elements of this accident are consistent with a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) event. Although the specific underlying reasons for the CFIT event could not be determined, it is likely that the pilot's comfort with the route, combined with his determination to complete the flight to reach work, caused him to enter IMC. That entry into IMC, coupled with an improper route and altitude combination, resulted in the collision with the peak.

The 0835 TSP automated weather observation included calm wind, visibility 10 miles, broken cloud layer at 7,500 ft, overcast layer at 8,000 ft, temperature 5°C, dew point 2°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.90 inches of mercury. The 0855 observation included calm wind, visibility 10 miles, overcast layer at 6,000 ft, temperature 6°C, dew point 2°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.91 inches of mercury. General William J. Fox Airfield (WJF), Lancaster, California, was located in the Mojave desert, about 15 miles east of the accident flight track at an elevation of 2,351 ft. The 0856 WJF automated weather observation included winds from 240o at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles in light rain, overcast layer at 2,400 ft, temperature 9°C, dew point 7°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.92 inches of mercury. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with airplane single- and multi-engine land, and instrument ratings. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued in February 2016. The pilot's personal flight logs were not located. However, in his report to the NTSB regarding a June 16, 2016 landing accident in a different airplane make and model, the pilot reported that he had 2,500 total hours of flight experience, including 2,300 hours in single-engine airplanes, and 100 hours of "actual" instrument flight time. In addition to the accident airplane, the pilot concurrently owned another airplane, a Grumman AA-1 "Yankee," which he also based at TSP. The pilot held an FAA mechanic certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings. That certificate was issued in March 2012. The four-seat, low-wing, retractable landing gear airplane was manufactured in 1978. It was equipped with a Lycoming IO-360-series engine and a constant speed propeller. The pilot purchased the airplane in July 2005, and the engine was overhauled in December 2016. NTSB-requested searches of the pilot's home and hangar for the airplane maintenance records were unsuccessful. Two acquaintances of the pilot reported that the recent engine overhaul was due to the presence of "metal" in the oil and/or oil filter. LHS VOR is on a leveled-off peak in the aforementioned southern mountain range at an elevation of 5,793 ft. The wreckage was located on the north slope of that peak, about 70 ft below, and 380 ft from, the VOR antenna. Review of topographic data and the airplane flight track revealed that the impacted mountain was the highest topographical feature along the flight track, and that the underlying terrain rose rapidly as the airplane flew beyond the Mojave Desert to cross the mountain range that forms the desert flatlands' southern boundary. The airplane first struck low (up to about 10 ft high) scrub vegetation, then grassy earth, before impacting the heavy scrub vegetation where it came to rest. Vegetation and ground scars were consistent with the airplane striking the ground in a wings-level, right-side-up attitude on a horizontal flight path. The forward fuselage exhibited severe crush and fracture damage. The single (right side) cabin door, pilot seat, and some other cabin items were found about 20 ft ahead of the wreckage. Portions of the cabin sidewalls, floor, and roof were found strewn among the vegetation forward of the main wreckage. The instrument panel was severely disrupted, and only about half of the instruments remained attached to the panel. Damage precluded obtaining any relevant information regarding instrument or control positions at impact. The main landing gear condition and position was consistent with the gear being retracted at the time of impact The engine was partially separated from the airframe and came to rest on its left side. The engine exhibited significant damage to its forward and lower sides, but all cylinders remained attached and intact. Some engine accessories and components were fracture-separated from the engine. No evidence of any pre-impact catastrophic failures was evident. The three-blade propeller and hub assembly was fracture-separated from the engine. Two full-length blades remained in the hub, and these blades exhibited moderate twisting and/or bending deformation. The other blade was fracture-separated at its root. The stub of that blade, about 3 inches long, remained in the hub. Both wings were found swept aft about 75°, and exhibited extensive, full-span crush damage to their leading edges. The right wing was rotated leading edge down. Both flaps remained attached to their respective wings. The left flap appeared to be retracted, but the right flap was free to travel through its entire range, consistent with a fractured link in the system. Both ailerons remained attached to their respective outboard wing sections, and both retained their balance weights. The ailerons were only moveable through a small range of their normal travel, consistent with postaccident deformation and resultant system binding. The aft fuselage came to rest upright with the empennage nearly intact. The left and right horizontal stabilizers remained attached to the empennage. The left and right elevators remained attached to their respective stabilizers and to one another. The vertical stabilizer remained attached to the empennage. The rudder remained attached to the vertical stabilizer. The balance weights for the rudder and the two elevators remained attached to their respective control surfaces. Fuselage disruption forward of the aft cabin wall precluded any determination of control continuity. There was no fire. No evidence of any pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the propeller, engine, or airframe was observed. On January 12, 2017, about 0905 Pacific standard time (PST), a Mooney M20J, N6201N, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during cruise flight near the Lake Hughes Very High Frequency Omnirange (LHS VOR) navigation beacon. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was owned by the pilot and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions were likely present at the accident site about the time of the accident; no flight plan was filed. The personal flight departed Tehachapi Municipal Airport (TSP), Tehachapi, California, about 0849, and was destined for Zamperini Field Airport (TOA), Torrance, California. The airplane was the subject of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Alert Notice (ALNOT), issued on January 17, indicating that the airplane was missing. In response to the ALNOT, members of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) began a telephonic search for information about the pilot and his possible whereabouts. That search yielded a conclusion that the pilot's last known flight date was January 12, which then resulted in detailed examination of air traffic control (ATC) radar data for that day and geographic locale. A radar track with a transponder code of 1200, originating southeast of TSP and terminating at the LHS VOR, was identified as likely being that of the missing airplane. On the morning of January 18, an aerial search by the CAP located the wreckage of the airplane a few hundred feet from the LHS VOR. The pilot based the airplane at TSP and lived in the local area. According to several people who knew the pilot, he worked three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) in Torrance and used the airplane to commute on each of those days between TSP and TOA. One of the pilot's coworkers typically picked him up at TOA on those workday mornings and dropped him off there after work. According to that coworker, the pilot rarely canceled any of those flights for weather-related reasons. On the morning of the accident, which was a Thursday, the coworker did not hear from the pilot but was not concerned. About January 16, a friend of the pilot realized that the pilot's truck was parked at the airport but that no one had seen the pilot for several days; his and o