Accident Cessna 560 Citation V N3RB,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 319060

Date:	Saturday 9 January 2021
Time:	13:36
Type:	Cessna 560 Citation V
Owner/operator:	SX Transport LLC
Registration:	N3RB
MSN:	560-0035
Year of manufacture:	1989
Total airframe hrs:	13727 hours
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	23 km SE of Pine Grove, OR - United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:	Troutdale Airport, OR (TTD/KTTD)
Destination airport:	Boise Air Terminal, ID (BOI/KBOI)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Cessna 560 Citation V, registration N3RB, was destroyed when it impacted the terrain in the Mutton Mountains area southeast of Pine Grove, Oregon. The pilot was killed in the accident.

The aircraft departed Troutdale Airport, Oregon at 22:08 UTC. After departure, while in contact with Portland Approach and subsequently Seattle Center, the pilot had problems following the controllers' instructions with regards to headings and radio frequency.
The aircraft was cleared to climb to FL370 by Seattle Center and continued to climb, until 13:28:45, when it reached its highest altitude of 31,000 ft. The airplane began to descend, and remained for the next eight minutes in a spiraling and descending 1-mile radius right turn. The last ADS-B target was recorded at 13:36:27, with the airplane on a northwest heading at an altitude of 3,800 ft. The airplane struck the ground in the Mutton Mountain Range, at an elevation of 3,600 ft.

FAA records did not indicate that the pilot held a type rating for the Citation 560. He had taken Citation 560 training toward the end of 2020 at a training facility in Arizona, however the owner of the facility stated that the pilot had not performed to a level sufficient to be issued a type rating or single pilot exemption.
During the training, he struggled significantly in high workload environments and had difficulty operating the airplanes 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.
Review of historical flight data, and statements provided by acquaintances of the pilot, indicate that this was likely the first time he had flown the airplane on his own.

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

Accident investigation: