ASN Aircraft accident Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III N765FA Camilla, GA
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Monday 5 December 2016
Time:22:22
Type:Silhouette image of generic SW4 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III
Operator:Key Lime Air
Registration: N765FA
MSN: AC-765
First flight: 1990
Total airframe hrs:23296
Engines: 2 Garrett TPE331-11U-611G
Crew:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:5,5 km (3.4 mls) ESE of Camilla, GA (   United States of America)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Cargo
Departure airport:Panama City-Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, FL (ECP/KECP), United States of America
Destination airport:Albany-Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, GA (ABY/KABY), United States of America
Flightnumber:LYM308
Narrative:
A Swearingen Metro cargo plane, operating Key Lime Air flight LYM308, was destroyed during a descent and subsequent inflight breakup near Camilla, Georgia, USA. The pilot, the sole occupant, was killed.
The aircraft departed Panama City, Florida at 20:54 CST (02:54 UTC Dec. 6) on a flight to Albany Airport, Georgia.
En route the air traffic controller advised the pilot of moderate to extreme precipitation along his planned route of flight and suggested a route of flight that would have had the pilot fly to the northeast for 70 nautical miles to avoid the most severe
weather. The pilot responded that he did have enough fuel for such a diversion, but concluded that he would "see what the radar is painting" after the descent to 3,000 mean sea level (msl). Shortly thereafter, the pilot advised the controller that he intended to divert the flight to Tallahassee International Airport (TLH), Florida. The airplane then descended from 7,000 feet msl to 3,700 feet msl before radar and radio contact was lost.

The wreckage was scattered over a large area that included a cotton field and dense forest. The debris field was about 2,640 feet in length and 1,500 feet in width.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's decision to initiate and continue the flight into known adverse weather conditions, which resulted spatial disorientation, a loss of airplane control, and a subsequent in-flight breakup"

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 11 months
Accident number: ERA17FA066
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Airframe failure
Loss of control

Sources:
» WBTV
» Flightaware.com
» NTSB

METAR Weather report:
22:01 UTC / 03:01 local time:
KABY 060301Z AUTO 06006KT 1SM +RA BR FEW005 OVC019 16/16 A2984 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT SW AND W P0017 T01560156

22:16 UTC / 03:16 local time:
KABY 060316Z AUTO 08015KT 3SM -RA BR BKN023 BKN120 16/16 A2981 RMK AO2 PRESFR P0024 T01610161

22:21 UTC / 03:21 local time:
KABY 060321Z AUTO 09013KT 8SM VCTS -RA SCT026 BKN120 16/16 A2981 RMK AO2 P0024 T01610161

22:41 UTC / 03:41 local time:
KABY 060341Z AUTO 13012KT 10SM -RA FEW005 FEW047 BKN110 17/17 A2982 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT E P0025 T01720172


Photos

photo of Swearingen-SA227-AC-Metro-III-N765FA
accident date: 05-12-2016
type: Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III
registration: N765FA
photo of Swearingen-SA227-AC-Metro-III-N765FA
accident date: 05-12-2016
type: Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III
registration: N765FA
photo of Swearingen-SA227-AC-Metro-III-N765FA
accident date: 05-12-2016
type: Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III
registration: N765FA
photo of Swearingen-SA227-AC-Metro-III-N765FA
accident date: 05-12-2016
type: Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III
registration: N765FA
photo of Swearingen-Metro-
Flight profile
photo of Swearingen-SA227-AC-Metro-III-N765FA
 

Aircraft history
date registration operator remarks
1990 N2751N Swearingen first flight
21 Nov. 1990 ZK-NSI Air New Zealand Link (Air Nelson) delivered
25 Sep. 2003 N765FA Key Lime Air registered

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Panama City-Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, FL to Albany-Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, GA as the crow flies is 201 km (126 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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