ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 270249
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| Date: | Sunday 5 December 2021 |
| Time: | 16:52 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N64BR |
| MSN: | 31-7752124 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8809 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Medford-Rogue Valley International Airport (MFR/KMFR),Medford, OR -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Medford-Rogue Valley International, OR (MFR/KMFR) |
| Fallon Municipal Airport, NV (FLX/KFLX) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On December 05, 2021, at 1652, a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain airplane, N64BR, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Medford, Oregon. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The airplane was departing into instrument meteorological conditions using a standard instrument departure. The takeoff instructions consisted of making a climbing right turn direct to a nondirectional beacon. After departing, the pilot made a radio communication to an air traffic controller asking if he will tell him when to turn. The controller replied that he would not be calling his turn and that the pilot should fly the departure as published making a climbing right turn to overfly the approach end of the runway. The pilot acknowledged the communication, which was his last transmission. The airplane made a 360° turn and descended below the cloud layer. The airplane then climbed back into the cloud layer and made an inverted loop, descending into the ground in a near-vertical attitude.
A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. Recorded audio of the airplane before the accident was consistent with the engines operating. The signatures on both propellers were consistent with one another and consistent with the engines operating at a similar rpm.
The pilot was qualified and recently underwent recurrent training. The reasons the pilot became spatially disoriented could not definitely determined. The pilot left the anti-collision lights on while in the clouds, which may have resulted in him having flicker vertigo.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control during the initial climb into clouds due to spatial disorientation, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent and collision with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2021/12/1-dead-in-medford-after-plane-crashes-into-parking-lot-near-airport.html
https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Fire-near-Airport-Road-in-Medford-at-the-Chevrolet-dealership-575867931.html
https://medfordalert.com/2021/12/05/breaking-a-plane-has-crashed-into-a-biddle-rd-area-car-dealership/
https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/FAA-report-lists-two-deaths-in-plane-crash-outside-Medford-Airport-Chevrolet-575871151.html
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104346
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=64BR
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N64BR/history/20211206/0030Z/KMFR/KFLX
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a8630b&lat=42.363&lon=-122.878&zoom=14.9&showTrace=2021-12-06&trackLabels
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/30864_1515237335.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
9:20P UPDATE:
— MedfordAlert (@MedfordALERT) December 6, 2021
We have updated the story to show the flight path video from FlightRadar24, as it left MFR this evening.https://t.co/Wtgvfm52yC
#Breaking: NewsWatch 12 has been provided with video of the plane crash in Medford this evening courtesy of Empire Lockers. We do want to warn everyone that viewer discretion is advised and we are working to get you more information. pic.twitter.com/pLRPgKXSPN
— NewsWatch 12 (@KDRV) December 6, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Dec-2021 04:01 | Geno | Added |
| 06-Dec-2021 04:06 | Geno | Updated [Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2021 06:22 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2021 07:20 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2021 07:20 | Aerossurance | Updated [[Narrative]] |
| 06-Dec-2021 17:41 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2021 18:41 | Geno | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2021 18:48 | aaronwk | Updated [Time, Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2021 19:11 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Dec-2021 05:03 | johnwg | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 07-Dec-2021 23:31 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Dec-2021 00:47 | johnwg | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Dec-2021 12:16 | joel caetano | Updated [Source] |
| 10-Jan-2022 19:34 | aaronwk | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 18-Jan-2022 00:16 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Dec-2023 18:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
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