NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 13, 2014, at 0808 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, N5335R, was destroyed when it collided with trees and terrain after takeoff from runway 16 at Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The private pilot was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was destined for Portland International Jetport (PWM), Portland, Maine. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot had flown from PWM to HPN the previous day for a family event. The fixed base operator (FBO) at HPN serviced the airplane with 60 gallons of fuel, which filled the tanks, and was advised to expect the pilot at 0900 the next day for his return flight to PWM. Instead, the pilot arrived at the FBO at 0745, and requested his airplane be brought outside and prepared for departure immediately. The pilot contacted HPN ground control and was provided taxi instructions, and was subsequently cleared for takeoff by the control tower.

Air traffic control and radar information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the airplane departed at 0808, and that the HPN air traffic control tower was contacted shortly thereafter by the ground controller and the departure controller, inquiring if the airplane had departed yet. The tower controller responded, "I have no idea. We have zero visibility."

Only five radar targets identified as the accident airplane were captured, and all were over HPN airport property. The first three radar targets began about mid-point of the 6,500-foot runway, and each indicated an altitude of about 500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airport elevation was 439 feet. The next and final two targets depicted a shallow right turn at 600 feet and 700 feet, respectively, before radar contact was lost. The final radar target was about one half-mile from the accident site.

The airplane collided with trees and terrain behind a house, and in front of horse stables on residential property. Two witnesses at the stables were interviewed, and their statements were consistent throughout. They each stated that the weather was "dark, rainy, and foggy," and their attention was drawn to the airplane when it "appeared" out of the clouds immediately above the trees, traveling "very fast." One witness stated that he heard the airplane before he saw it. They stated that the airplane impacted trees in a level attitude, and upon impact, was enveloped by a cloud of "blue smoke" with the odor of diesel fuel.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA Class 3 Limited, Special Issuance medical certificate was issued on November 25, 2013 and was not valid for any class after July 31, 2014. The pilot reported 5,100 hours of flight experience on his most recent medical certificate application.

The pilot's total flight experience could not be reconciled, but examination of the pilot's most recent logbook revealed the pilot had logged 5,371.6 total hours of flight experience. In 2013, he logged 126.7 hours of flight experience, all of which was in the accident airplane. In 2014, he logged 7.3 hours, with the last entry on February 28, 2014.

On a separate page, a pre-printed sticker from a flight school dated May 14, 2014, reflected an aircraft specific instrument proficiency check and flight review were satisfactorily completed. The training included 9.9 hours of ground school and 1.1 hours of flight training on that date.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 2001, and was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A, 850 hp turboprop engine. The most recent annual inspection was completed June 3, 2014, at a total aircraft time of 1,927.2 hours.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The 0815 weather observation at HPN, 1 mile north of the accident site, included an overcast ceiling at 200 feet and one-quarter mile visibility in fog. The wind was from 090 degrees at 6 knots. The temperature was 17 degrees C, the dew point was 17 degrees C, and the altimeter setting was 29.85 inches of mercury.

Weather at PWM at the proposed time of arrival included an overcast ceiling at 300 feet with 1.5 miles of visibility in light rain and fog.

WRECKAGE INFORMATION

The wreckage was examined at the accident site on June 14, 2014. There was a strong odor of fuel, and all major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene. The wreckage path was oriented on a heading of 270 degrees magnetic and was approximately 360 feet in length. The initial impact point was in a tree approximately 60 feet high, and the airplane impacted several other trees before impacting the ground about 205 feet beyond the first tree strike. Several pieces of angularly-cut wood were found the length of the debris field.

The airplane was fragmented, and scattered along the length of the wreckage path. Control continuity to the wings could not be confirmed due to multiple breaks in the control cables and bellcranks, but all fractures appeared consistent with overload failure. Control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the rudder and elevator.

The fuselage lay on its left side against a tree, 280 feet down the wreckage path. The instrument panel and cockpit were destroyed by impact. The cabin and empennage were largely intact. The landing gear and wing flaps were retracted.

The engine and propeller were both about 290 feet down the wreckage path, and separated by approximately 20 feet. All four propeller blades exhibited similar twisting, bending, leading and trailing edge gouging, and chord-wise scratching. One propeller blade was fractured near its root and on its outboard tip, but the associated pieces were located at the accident site.

The engine was separated from the airplane and found upright. The accessory gearbox and inlet case were fractured at numerous locations. The accessory gearbox spur gears and fractured sections of the accessory gearbox were recovered at the site.

The first-stage compressor blades tips were all bent opposite the direction of rotation. The exhaust duct and gas generator were compressed from impact.

The gas generator case was sectioned between the "C" flange and the fuel nozzle bosses to access the hot section components. The upstream side of the first stage power turbine blades and disc exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the downstream side of the first-stage power turbine vane and baffle. The power turbine retention nut exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the downstream side of the first-stage power turbine baffle.

The downstream side of the compressor turbine disc and blades exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the upstream side of the first stage power turbine vane and baffle.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Westchester County Office of Laboratories and Research, Valhalla, New York, performed the autopsy on the pilot. The autopsy listed the cause of death as blunt force injuries.

Toxicological testing was performed on the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Testing was negative for carbon monoxide, ethanol, and all tested-for drugs and their metabolites.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

A touchscreen-capable personal tablet device and an airframe-mounted data acquisition unit were recovered and sent to the NTSB Recorder's Laboratory in Washington, DC for examination. No usable data was recovered from either device.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

According to Lockheed-Martin Flight Service (LMFS), the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing from either LMFS or from a Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS) vendor. The pilot filed an IFR flight plan through DUATS, but did not include an alternate airport in the flight plan.

According to 14 CFR Part 91.169, IFR flight plan: Information required; an IFR flight plan for aircraft other than helicopters must include an alternate airport when, "For at least 1 hour before and for 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival, the ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet above the airport elevation and the visibility will be at least 3 statute miles."

The pilot's family and personal staff provided a detailed timeline and narrative description of the pilot's activities on the day of and the days prior to the accident. They detailed work/rest cycles concurrent with a standard work day.

According to the pilot's personal assistant, the pilot had a meeting scheduled the day of the accident that was "very important to him. [He] was unusually punctual, never late and would have been focused on arriving on time."

The Westchester Four departure procedure from HPN included the instructions: "Takeoff Runway 16: Climb heading 162 [degrees] to 800 [feet], then climbing right turn heading 320 [degrees], maintain 3,000 [feet]."

The FAA Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3) described some hazards associated with flying when visual references, such as the ground or horizon, are obscured. "The vestibular sense (motion sensing by the inner ear) in particular tends to confuse the pilot. Because of inertia, the sensory areas of the inner ear cannot detect slight changes in the attitude of the airplane, nor can they accurately sense attitude changes that occur at a uniform rate over a period of time. On the other hand, false sensations are often generated; leading the pilot to believe the attitude of the airplane has changed when in fact, it has not. These false sensations result in the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation."

The FAA publication Medical Facts for Pilots (AM-400-03/1), described several vestibular illusions associated with the operation of aircraft in low visibility conditions. Somatogravic illusions, those involving the utricle and saccule of the vestibular system, were generally placed into one of three categories, one of which was "the head-up illusion." According to the text, the head-up illusion involves a forward linear acceleration, such as takeoff, where the pilot perceives that the nose of the aircraft is pitching up. The pilot's response to this illusion would be to push the control yoke forward to pitch the nose of the aircraft down. "A night takeoff from a well-light airport into a totally dark sky (black hole) or a catapult takeoff from an aircraft carrier can also lead to this illusion, and could result in a crash."

FAA Advisory Circular AC 60-22, Aeronautical Decision Making, stated, "Pilots, particularly those with considerable experience, as a rule always try to complete a flight as planned, please passengers, meet schedules, and generally demonstrate that they have 'the right stuff.'" One of the common behavioral traps identified was "Get-There-Itis." The text stated, "Common among pilots, [get-there-itis] clouds the vision and impairs judgment by causing a fixation on the original goal or destination combined with a total disregard for any alternative course of action."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain a positive climb rate after takeoff due to spatial disorientation (somatogravic illusion). Contributing to the accident was the pilot's self-induced pressure to depart and his decision to depart in low-ceiling and low-visibility conditions.