"Accident occurred Friday, February 08, 2008 in Albany, OR
Probable
Cause Approval Date: 9/26/2008
Aircraft: Wooters Lancair ES, registration:
N329BW
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
The non-instrument rated, private pilot filed an instrument flight
plan for a cross-country flight, in an airplane not equipped for in-flight icing
encounters. The pilot was seated in the right seat, and the
airplane's owner, also a non-instrument rated private pilot, was seated in the
left seat. Family members indicated that the pilot and the owner/pilot flew
together often, and the right seat pilot would provide radio and navigation
assistance to the owner/pilot. Based on the available evidence, investigators
were unable to determine who was flying the airplane at the time of the
accident. The airplane was cleared to climb to 13,000 feet, and approximately 8
minutes after departure, declared an emergency and was lost from radar. Data
obtained from instrumentation on board the airplane indicated that after
attaining approximately 10,400 feet, the airplane entered a rapid descent.
Weather information at the time of the accident showed that icing conditions
were forecast along the route of flight. Records show multiple weather
information requests from the right seat pilot's computer log-on information to
a digital weather service provider the night prior to the accident, and the left
seat owner/pilot received a weather briefing via telephone the night prior to
the accident. All briefings indicated that visual flight rules to marginal
visual flight rules conditions were forecast, and there were airman's
meteorological information (AIRMETs) advisories for mountain obscuration, icing,
and turbulence.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of
this accident as follows:
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain
aircraft control while in cruise flight. Contributing to the accident were
inadequate planning/decision, icing conditions, and continued flight into known
icing conditions."
Not a real good reflection on these guys. The owner pilot was on anti
depressants and the aircraft was overdue for its condition inspection as
well.....