ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 37706
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| Date: | Monday 12 April 1999 |
| Time: | 14:12 LT |
| Type: |  Beechcraft D95A Travel Air |
| Owner/operator: | David M. Smith |
| Registration: | N3113K |
| MSN: | TD-530 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3595 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-360 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Shawsville, VA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Roanoke, VA (KROA) |
| Claxton, GA (KCWV) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was briefed on two occasions by a flight service briefer and was advised of a SIGMET for moderate to severe turbulence for the departure airport area and along the airplane's proposed route of flight. The pilot acknowledged receipt of a Hazardous In-flight Alert System (HIWAS) alert for moderate to occasional severe turbulence just prior to takeoff. After departure, the tower controller stopped the airplane's climb at 6,000 feet for traffic, then told the pilot to continue the climb to 8,000 feet. The controller had received Pilot Reports (PIREPs) about turbulence and asked the pilot what he was experiencing. The controller did not receive a response, and the airplane disappeared from the radarscope after reaching an altitude of 6,700 feet. Post accident interviews with other pilots revealed they experienced severe turbulence during the same time frame in the vicinity of the accident. Computer analysis of weather data indicated a 100% probability of severe turbulence at 6,000 feet, and at 7,000 feet, vertical motions of 3,153 feet per minute indicated a severe mountain wave. A PIREP placed the base of the cloud layer at 5,400 feet and the tops at 9,500 feet. The airplane's published maximum gross weight was 4,200 pounds, with a center-of-gravity (CG) range of 80.5 inches to 86 inches aft of datum. The airplane's calculated weight at the time of the accident was 4,566 pounds, with the center of gravity calculated at 90.68 inches aft of datum.
Probable Cause: the pilot's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in intentional flight into known severe turbulence and the subsequent loss of control. Factors in the accident were the turbulence in instrument meteorological conditions and an airplane loaded over the maximum allowable gross weight and outside the allowable center-of-gravity range.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB IAD99FA038
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 26-Nov-2017 12:42 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Jun-2023 05:38 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Operator, Source, Narrative]] |
| 08-Apr-2024 07:17 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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