WPR21LA082

A loss of airplane control due to pilot incapacitation for reasons that could not be determined.

During the first 15 minutes of the flight, the pilot of the complex, high performance, jet airplane appeared to have difficulty maintaining the headings and altitudes assigned by air traffic controllers, and throughout the flight, responded intermittently to controller instructions. After reaching an altitude of 27,000 ft, the airplane began to deviate about 30° right of course while continuing to climb. The controller alerted the pilot, who did not respond, and the airplane continued to climb. Two minutes later, the airplane entered a tight, spiraling descent that lasted 8 minutes until the airplane impacted the ground at high speed in a right-wing-low attitude. The airplane was highly fragmented on impact; however, examination did not reveal any evidence of structural failure, in-flight fire, a bird strike, or a cabin depressurization event, and both engines appeared to be producing power at impact. Although the 72-year-old private pilot had extensive flight experience in multiple types of aircraft, including jets, he did not hold a type rating in the accident airplane, and the accident flight was likely the first time he had flown it solo. He had received training in the airplane about two months before the accident but was not issued a type rating and left before the training was complete. During the training, he struggled significantly in high workload environments and had difficulty operating the airplane’s avionics suite, which had recently been installed. He revealed to a fellow pilot that he preferred to “hand fly” the airplane rather than use the autopilot. The airplane’s heading and flight path before the spiraling descent were consistent with the pilot not using the autopilot; however, review of the flight path during the spiraling descent indicated that the speed variations appeared to closely match the airplane’s open loop phugoid response as documented during manufacturer flight tests; therefore, it is likely that the pilot was not manipulating the controls during that time. Review of the pilot’s medical history uncovered a number of conditions and medications that the pilot had not reported to the Federal Aviation Administration. The severity of injuries precluded obtaining any useful information regarding natural disease during autopsy, and no toxicology was performed. None of the pilot’s known medical conditions or medications would have directly caused incapacitation, but the pilot may have had undiagnosed disease or had some acute event that would have incapacitated him. His age, gender, high blood pressure, and hypertension placed him at risk for a heart attack or stroke. While the available evidence is consistent with a loss of airplane control following pilot incapacitation, the reason for his incapacitation could not be determined.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate, and although he held type ratings for the Grumman G-111 Albatross and Learjet, FAA records did not indicate that he held a type rating for the Citation 560. The pilot had taken Citation 560 training toward the end of 2020 at a facility in Arizona. The owner of that facility provided some of the flight training and stated that, when the pilot had initially approached him, his plan was to accomplish both his commercial pilot certificate, Citation type rating, and single-pilot exemption consecutively. They developed a custom syllabus to meet these goals; however, after the first few flights, it became apparent that, while the commercial and Citation ratings were possible, the single-pilot exemption would likely take significantly more time to accomplish. The decision was then made to abandon the single-pilot exemption and focus on a “crew method” of training. As the training progressed, the pilot encountered significant difficulty mastering the operation of the autopilot and the Garmin 750 avionics suite, which had recently been installed. The owner of the training facility stated that the pilot struggled significantly in high-workload environments, such as while flying instrument approaches, where multiple configuration changes needed to be accomplished in a short amount of time, and that the presence of the Garmin 750 appeared to aggravate the situation. He stated that as his instructor/first officer, he was never able to transition from “instructor” into “first officer” mode. The pilot would typically make some progress on one flight, but during following flights, the results could be unpredictable, and the pilot could not make consistent, repeatable progress mastering the airplane. Additionally, although the pilot had a good general grasp of standard airwork, he was struggling in particular with steep turns. After over a dozen flights over the course of 3 weeks, the training was not complete, and the pilot decided that he needed to leave to take care of some business at home and planned to return later to resume training. At that time, he had not performed to a level sufficient to be issued the type rating. Since October 2020, the pilot had an arrangement with a contract pilot who flew the accident airplane, while he sat in the right seat. The contract pilot stated that he did not get a chance to see the pilot fly the airplane; however, during one of their flights, the pilot stated that he preferred to “hand fly” the airplane rather than use the autopilot, because he did not consider himself a professional pilot. Review of historical flight data and statements provided by acquaintances and other pilots who flew with him indicated that the accident flight was likely the first time the pilot had flown the airplane solo. During the 72-year-old pilot’s most recent medical examination, on September 2, 2020, he reported having seasonal allergies and the use of loratadine (Claritin) to treat them. This drug is not considered impairing. According to the autopsy performed by the Wasco County Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of death was generalized blunt force trauma and the manner of death was accident. Due to the severity of injury, a limited external examination was performed, and no specimens were submitted for toxicology testing. No natural disease was identified in the limited exam. According to personal medical records, the pilot had a number of longstanding diagnoses, including anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, seasonal allergies, glaucoma, and high cholesterol. His regular medications over the year preceding the accident included alprazolam and sertraline for his psychiatric disease, atorvastatin and fenofibrate for his high cholesterol, lisinopril-hydrochlorothiazide for his blood pressure, and three different eye drops to treat his glaucoma. In March 2020, he reported using cetirizine/pseudoephedrine (Zyrtec-D) to treat his seasonal allergies. He did not report the use of these medications during his most recent FAA medical exam. Alprazolam is an FAA, “Do Not Fly” medication; air medical examiners are instructed not to issue medical certificates to applicants who use it. Sertraline, an SSRI medication, cannot be taken unless authorized by the FAA. The FAA considers cetirizine a conditionally acceptable sedating medication that may be used occasionally one to two times per week, but not for daily use. Family members and friends of the pilot who listened to the audio recordings of the pilot’s interaction with air traffic control stated that he was generally quiet and soft spoken and that his voice sounded normal to them. Ownership of the airplane was transferred to the pilot in July 2020. As part of the negotiations for sale, an avionics upgrade was performed in April 2020, which included the addition of a Garmin 650 Xi and 750Xi avionics suite, along with a Garmin 335R ADS-B transponder, and a GDL 69A datalink receiver. The current maintenance records were not located and were presumed to have been destroyed in the accident. The most recent recovered records indicated that a Phase B check was completed on January 6, 2020, at an airframe total time of 13,727.8 flight hours. The airplane was serviced with 150 gallons of Jet A fuel 6 days before the accident. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, neither the NTSB nor the FAA responded to the accident site, and onsite photographic documentation was accomplished by local law enforcement personnel. A complete airframe and engine examination was later performed by representatives from the NTSB, FAA, Textron Aviation, and Pratt and Whitney Canada International at a recovery facility. Review of photographs of the accident site revealed a 1,500-ft-long debris field on an approximate heading of 330° magnetic. The entire airplane sustained significant fragmentation and thermal damage, with the right wing displaying the most extensive fragmentation. All major structural and flight control surfaces were recovered in the immediate vicinity of the accident site. The thrust reverser assemblies were found in the stowed position and both engines displayed damage signatures consistent with operation at impact. There was no evidence of bird strike, in-flight fire, or door opening. Remnants of three emergency oxygen system mask assemblies were located. Two of the assemblies sustained damage preventing an assessment of their operational status, but the mask for one passenger system remained within its housing assembly, indicating that the oxygen system had not deployed. According to the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, should the cabin altitude exceed 13,500 +/-600 ft, an altitude sensing switch will electrically actuate the passenger solenoid valve, supplying 70-psi oxygen pressure to the passenger manifold. This pressure is sufficient to operate the passenger mask actuators, deploy the doors, and drop the continuous-flow masks at each passenger seat. The oxygen control panel was located; however, the control valve switch was detached, and a determination of its status at the time of the accident could not be ascertained. The valves for the oxygen cylinder were broken off; therefore, the tanks were empty, and their oxygen quantity at impact could not be determined. On January 9, 2021, at 1337 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 560, N3RB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Warm Springs, Oregon. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. The pilot filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan to Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. The reason for the flight could not be determined; however, family members and acquaintances stated that the pilot usually travelled with his dog, and because on this occasion he did not, he was likely planning to return that day.