NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 22, 2001, at 2346 central daylight time, a Piper PA-34-220T twin-engine airplane, N4312G, was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain while maneuvering near Brackettville, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual. The airline transport pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and two other passengers were seriously injured. Dark night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight departed San Antonio, Texas, approximately 2300, and was destined for Del Rio, Texas.

According to the FAA, U.S. Border Patrol personnel, and local authorities, the pilot called the San Angelo Flight Service Station (FSS) and requested a weather briefing for his route of flight three times prior to departing. While en route, the pilot called the San Angelo FSS and requested an additional weather briefing for his flight. The surviving passenger told Border Patrol personnel that they "encountered weather and knew there was something wrong." The passenger added that he had unfastened his seat belt in order to listen to what the pilot was saying when the airplane started to impact trees and terrain.

The local authorities were notified that the airplane had not reached its destination. A search was initiated and the aircraft was located by Border Patrol approximately 12 hours after the accident.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held an airline transport certificate with single and multiengine land airplane ratings. He also held a flight instructor certificate, which was valid until January 31, 2002. The pilot's logbook was not located during the investigation. The pilot applied for a medical certificate on September 17, 1998; however, the medical certificate was never issued to the pilot. The pilot indicated on the medical application that he had accumulated 21,000 total flight hours. It is unknown how many hours the pilot had in the accident airplane, how much night time he had accumulated, or how much actual instrument flight time he had logged.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The 1983-model airplane was powered by two Continental TSIO-360-KB(1) engines and two McCauley 3-bladed propellers. The right engine and right propeller logbook were located at the accident site. The airframe, left engine, and left propeller logbooks were not found. Review of the right engine logbook revealed that it underwent its last 100-hour inspection on April 3, 2000, at an engine total time of 1,893.2 hours. It is unknown whether an overhaul had been accomplished on the engine. The last recorded maintenance activity where an engine total time was entered was an engine oil change in July 2000, at an engine time of 1,925.5 hours. It is unknown how much time the airframe had accumulated at the time of the accident.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

On April 22, 2001, the pilot obtained four weather briefings concerning the accident flight. The first weather briefing took place between 1443 and 1446. The pilot requested current and forecasted weather for San Antonio (SAT) and Del Rio (DRT) between 2200 and 2300. The pilot was given the SAT weather forecast, which called for rain showers in the vicinity, and broken ceilings at 2,500 feet and 20,000 feet until 2200. After 2200, the SAT weather forecast called for thunderstorms and heavy rain showers and lower ceilings. The DRT forecast between 1900 and 2000, called for thunderstorms in the vicinity and broken ceilings at 6,000 and 15,000 feet. The forecast also called for occasional wind gusts from 30 to 55 knots, 1/2-statute mile visibility in thunderstorms, heavy rain, and hail, and overcast ceilings at 1,400 and 30,000 feet until 0100. The pilot was also given Airmet Tango, which forecasted moderate turbulence below 18,000 feet.

The second weather briefing took place between 2031 and 2035. The pilot stated that he was going from SAT to Eagle Pass (5T9) and requested radar summary information for that area. The pilot was told that radar data in the DRT area depicted a line of light to moderate precipitation to the west, southwest moving east. The pilot requested the current ceilings and was given the DRT current conditions, which reported visibility greater than 10 statute miles and clear skies below 12,000 feet. He was also informed that Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) radar data depicted thunderstorms 15 miles to the southwest moving east. The pilot requested the forecast for SAT, and was given the following information: showers in the vicinity, wind from the southeast with gusts to 20 knots, broken and overcast ceilings at 2,500 and 5,000 feet respectively, after 2200, occasional broken and overcast ceilings at 1,800 and 3,000 feet respectively. The pilot asked what time the cold front was forecast to go through the route, and was told that the front was making its way over to his route, and the DLF forecast called for heavy thunderstorms, hail, heavy rain, overcast ceilings at 3,000 feet, and visibility 1/2-statute mile until 2300. The pilot ended the second weather briefing by saying, "that's about the time I'm supposed to arrive down there at Eagle Pass. I'll call back."

The third weather briefing took place between 2110 and 2113. The pilot indicated that he was going from SAT to 5T9 and wanted the current DRT weather, the ceiling at SAT, and a radar data update for the last hour. The pilot was given an amended Airmet Tango for turbulence below 10,000 feet. The current DRT weather was wind from 090 at 8 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, and a few clouds at 8,500 feet. The current DLF weather was reported as scattered clouds at 5,000 feet, visibility 7 statute miles in thunderstorms, and thunderstorms 33 miles southwest of DLF moving east with lightning cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground. The pilot asked if the weather was as far south as 5T9, and was told that 33 miles southwest of DLF put the weather "pretty close to 5T9." The pilot then stated that 5T9 was 31 miles from DLF, and asked if the briefer meant nautical miles. The pilot then asked for the SAT current weather and was told that there were broken clouds at 2,200 feet and overcast clouds at 2,900 feet. The pilot asked for the clouds over Hondo, Texas, and was told that they were broken at 2,600 feet. The pilot ended the third weather briefing with "O.K., I'm supposed to get out of here at 2130. I'll give it a try. I'll give you a call..."

The fourth weather briefing took place between 2323 and 2325. The pilot radioed the San Angelo Flight Service Station over flight watch frequency 123.65 Mhz, and indicated that they were en route in the vicinity of Uvalde, Texas (approximately 40 nautical miles southeast of the accident site). The pilot requested the current weather at DRT and was informed that the wind was from 100 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 19 knots, the visibility was 10 statute miles, there were a few clouds at 6,000 feet, and that rain had begun and ended within the previous hour. The briefer also informed the pilot that there was a line of thunderstorms northwest of DRT. The pilot asked if there was any weather between DRT and 5T9, and was told that DLF was depicting thunderstorms 32 miles northwest, moving southeast with occasional lightning cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-ground. There was no other radio communication with the pilot.

On June 13, 2001, the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) spoke with one of the surviving passengers, who was seated in the forward facing right rear seat during the accident. According to the passenger, who held a private pilot certificate with an instrument airplane rating, they were flying in dark, night conditions, and "the weather started getting bad." The passenger heard the pilot talking on the radio attempting to get a weather update. The passenger unbuckled his seat belt and moved closer to the pilot in an attempt to hear his conversation. The passenger stated that he could not hear clearly and returned to his seat, and that is when the airplane started to impact trees. When asked what the passenger meant by "bad weather," he replied that it was "bumpy, choppy, and very dark." Numerous attempts to obtain written statements from the two surviving passengers were unsuccessful.

COMMUNICATIONS AND RADAR DATA

There were no en route communications with the pilot with the exception of the in-flight weather update. The radar data depicted the airplane descending from 2,800 feet to 2,300 feet prior to disappearing from radar coverage. The last 2 radar returns, received at 2337:41 and 2338:05, depicted the airplane making a turn towards the northwest.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The airplane impacted trees and rising hilly terrain at an elevation of approximately 1,675 feet msl. The wreckage energy path measured 252 feet in length on a measured magnetic heading of 300 degrees. The initial impact marks were noted on cedar trees, which displayed fresh breaks and cuts at the same height, spanning perpendicular to the energy path approximately 38 feet. Near the initial tree impact area was the left wing tip, which came to rest on the left side of the energy path. The initial ground scar was located approximately 30 feet from the broken and cut trees, and displayed blue paint transfers, which matched the color of the airplane. Laying near the ground scar was a 4-inch section of propeller blade tip. A 3-foot section of the right outboard wing, along with a section of right outboard aileron, was wrapped around a tree on the right side of the energy path. The inboard section of right aileron came to rest approximately 20 feet from the separated right outboard wing section. Near the end of the energy path, the terrain descended approximately 30 feet into a gully. The airplane came to rest inverted in the gully on a measured magnetic heading of 250 degrees.

The entire cockpit and cabin area was destroyed by fire. The left wing and empennage remained attached to the fuselage. The left aileron was separated from the left wing; however, it was found adjacent to the main wreckage area. The left and right engines remained attached to their respective wings, and their propellers remained attached to their flanges. Both the left and right propeller blades sustained deep leading edge gouges and scrapes along the cambered side of the blades. All of the propeller blades were bent aft, twisted, and curled aft at their tips. The oil pans on both engines were broken and sustained fire damage. The engine crankshaft, camshaft, connecting rod ends, lifter lobes, and tappets were visible and appeared to be intact. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces with the exception of the left and right ailerons.

The airplane was equipped with an ELT; however, it was destroyed by fire damage.

PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

An autopsy was performed on the pilot at the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office in San Antonio, Texas. Toxicology tests on the pilot revealed an unquantified amount of sertraline detected in the blood, liver, and urine, 0.083 ug/mL of desmethylsertraline (a metabolite of sertraline) detected in the blood, and unquantifed amounts of desmethylsertraline detected in the liver and urine. Sertraline is an antidepressant, which would have precluded FAA medical certification if reported by the pilot.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

On June 8, 2001, the NTSB IIC examined the left and right vacuum pumps. The vacuum pump drive shafts were melted. Disassembly of both vacuum pumps revealed no anomalies internally.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The wreckage was released to the owner's representative on June 8, 2001.

NTSB Probable Cause

the pilot's intentional low flight and his poor judgment to intentionally fly into known adverse weather, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain. Contributing factors were the dark night conditions and the thunderstorm.