NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On December 9, 2011, about 2000 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-235D, N999RR, impacted terrain 5 miles west of Chickasha, Oklahoma. The pilot and a passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by B&H Construction, LLC, of Norman, Oklahoma, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight. Marginal visual meteorological conditions (MVMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from Guymon (GUY) Oklahoma, about 1830, and was en route to Goldsby (K1K4), Oklahoma.

According to family members, the two men were returning home from a hunting trip in Guymon. The pilot telephoned the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (FCFSS) at 1545, and requested an outlook briefing for a VFR (visual flight rules) flight from KGUY to Norman (KOUN), Oklahoma, about 5 miles north of Goldsby. He told the briefer that instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) currently prevailed at KGUY, and he wanted to depart KGUY in about two hours. The briefer told the pilot IMC would prevail along the first three-quarters of his route, with ceilings below 1,000 feet and visibilities less than 3 miles in mist and fog. These conditions were expected to continue until 0300 the next morning. The briefer said the forecast for KGUY until 2000 was for wind to be from 040 degrees at 8 knots, unlimited visibility, and 600 feet overcast. After 2000, conditions were expected to improve slightly with the wind from 190 degrees at 5 knots, unlimited visibility, with scattered clouds at 1,000 feet. At 2300, the wind would be from 210 at 5 knots, visibility 3 miles in mist, and a 1,000 foot overcast ceiling. The briefing ended at 1548.

The pilot departed KGUY approximately 1830. There were no radio communications with the pilot. Approximately 2030, residents near the accident site heard an engine at high power, followed by the ground shaking and the sound of impact. They searched the area and located the wreckage shortly thereafter.

PERSONNEL (CREW) INFORMATION

The pilot, age 47, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, dated August 6, 2011. He was not instrument rated. He also held a third class airman medical certificate, dated March 10, 2011, containing no restrictions or limitations.

The pilot’s logbook was recovered at the accident site. It contained entries from January 15 to November 24, 2011, only. The logbook indicated that the pilot began taking flying lessons on January 15, started flying N999RR exclusively on March 21, and obtained his private pilot’s license on August 6, 2011. As of November 24, 2011 the pilot had accrued the following flight times:

Total time, 191.2

Pilot-in-command, 128.0

Solo, 98.8

Dual instruction, 62.8

Cross-country, 150.4

Simulated instruments, 3.1

Night, 16.3

PA-28-235, 182.5

A notebook containing tachometer readings was found in the wreckage. The last complete entry was dated November 24 for 30 minutes. The next entry, dated December 8, the day before the accident, had not been completed. The pilot had not flown bvetween November 24 and December 8.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

N999RR (serial number 28-11339) was manufactured by the Piper Aircraft Corporation in 1969. It was powered by a Lycoming O-540-B4B5 (serial number L-13558-40), rated at 235 horsepower, driving a Hartzell 2-blade, all-metal, constant speed propeller (model number HC-C2YK-1B F). It was a four place, low wing airplane with a fixed landing gear and a gross weight of 2,900 pounds.

According to the aircraft’s maintenance records, the last annual and 100-hour inspections of the airframe, engine, and propeller were performed on March 2, 2011, at a tachometer time of 1,593.2 and a total airframe time of 3,983.6 hours, respectively. At that time, a 0-time overhauled engine was installed. The propeller was last overhauled on November 12, 2000.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The on-scene investigation revealed the airplane impacted the ground between two buildings in a near-vertical attitude. The buildings and an overhead power line were not struck. The engine and propeller were buried in the crater. All cables were on their respective pulleys and all cable breaks bore overload signatures. Two shotguns were found in the wreckage.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The weather at KGUY the time of departure was 600 feet overcast and 10 miles visibility. Chickasha’s weather at the time of the accident varied between 900 and 1,100 feet overcast and 7 miles visibility. Norman’s weather was 900 feet overcast and 7 miles visibility, and Oklahoma City was reporting a ceiling of 900 feet overcast and 6 miles visibility in haze.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

Oklahoma’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on the pilot. Death was attributed to multiple blunt force trauma. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) performed the toxicology screen. Carbon monoxide and cyanide tests were not performed. No drugs were detected in muscle tissue, but 12 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ethanol was detected in muscle tissue. According to CAMI, the circumstances of the accident rendered this reading as meaningless.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

A Garmin GTN-650 Nav/Com/GPS and a Garmin GDL-69A Weather Data Receiver were recovered from the wreckage and sent to NTSB's Vehicle Recorder Laboratory. According to the specialist who examined the units, the GTN-650 is used in navigation. Its non-volatile memory only retains such things as flight plan catalogue, user settings, and recent frequencies; it does not retain flight data or track history. The GDL-69A is a data source to other Garmin units; it has no data storage of it’s own.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAA's AC (Advisory Circular) 60-4A, entitled “Pilot’s Spatial Disorientation,” states that disorientation is caused by a lack of visual reference to the natural horizon, and can be brought about by low visibility, night conditions, and reflected light from the anticollision rotating beacon. Disorientation can cause the pilot to inadvertently place the airplane in a dangerous attitude. To avoid becoming disoriented, the Advisory recommends that pilots obtain training and maintain proficiency in aircraft control by reference to instruments, to rely solely on those instrument indications, and to avoid flying in poor or deteriorating weather conditions.

NTSB Probable Cause

The non-instrument-rated pilot's decision to continue flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of control of the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of instrument certification.