Private

About 20 minutes after departing on a cross-country flight, the pilot acknowledged the air traffic controller’s clearance to climb to 17,000 feet mean sea level (msl). Radar data indicated that the airplane reached a maximum altitude of 16,800 feet msl. The airplane then entered a right descending turn followed by a left descending turn. While in the left turn, the pilot informed the controller, “I lost my autopilot; I’m in an unusual attitude.” The pilot stated this same information two more times in response to transmissions by the controller. The pilot’s last transmission was that he was busy trying to recover the airplane. Witnesses heard the airplane flying overhead for several minutes, but they could not see it due to the low ceiling. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any pre accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the autopilot system revealed a loose screw inside the pitch servo housing. The screw was one of two that secured the high wattage resistor to the solenoid housing. Observed corrosion within the screw threads was consistent with the threads not being engaged in a nut or other internally threaded feature. No mechanical damage or arcing was visible on the screw. The operational impact of the loose screw is unknown. The pilot’s instrument flying proficiency could not be determined. According to log records, the pilot last flew 4.5 months before the accident. The airplane was in instrument meteorological conditions when the pilot stated that he was trying to recover from the unusual attitude. The pilot did not follow prescribed procedures for an autopilot malfunction. Weather data indicates that the airplane most likely encountered turbulence and icing conditions during the flight; however, the airplane was equipped with an ice protection system. Although ethanol was found during the toxicology tests, the levels varied greatly among the tissue/fluid samples. The investigation was unable to determine if the presence of ethanol was from ingestion or from postmortem production or contamination. The detected level of diphenhydramine, an over-the-counter sedating antihistamine used to treat allergies, was above therapeutic levels and likely contributed to the pilot’s inability to recover from the unusual attitude.

The twin engine aircraft was en route from Yellowknife, NT to Fort St. John, BC. The pilot noticed fumes and smoke coming from behind the rear cabin wall. The cabin was depressurized and the door opened to clear the smoke. A forced landing was conducted onto the frozen surface of Falaise Lake, NT. The pilot immediately egressed, however, the aircraft was soon engulfed in flames and was completely consumed. The pilot was not injured and was flown out by helicopter.

The pilot departed the airport mid-morning to fly to his home airport, 63 miles to the northwest. Weather conditions at the departureb airport were visual flight rules (VFR), the weather at the destination airport was not reported, and the weather conditions en-route were marginal VFR. The global positioning system (GPS) track for the flight indicated that the airplane departed from the airport and headed west along a highway corridor flying approximately 1,000 feet above ground level (agl) through a mountain pass. For the majority of the flight, the airplane maintained altitudes between 900 feet and 1,200 feet agl. Twenty-nine minutes after takeoff, the airplane’s GPS track turned southwest away from an area of concentrated precipitation and directly towards an isolated mountain peak that rose approximately 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. The pilot contacted the local air traffic control facility, reported his position and requested traffic advisories through the local airspace to his destination airport. About 6 minutes later, the pilot stated that he was having difficulty maintaining VFR and asked for an instrument flight rules (IFR)clearance. At the same time, the GPS track showed that the airplane came within 50 feet of the mountainous terrain. No further transmissions from the pilot were received. The final GPS position was recorded 1 minute later, at 500 feet agl and approximately half a mile from the crash site. The terrain rapidly ascended in this area and intersected the airplane's flight path over the remaining 1/2 mile. An airport located about 4 miles from the accident site and in an area of flat terrain 1,000 feet below the isolated mountain top, recorded weather at the time of the accident as few clouds at 900 feet agl, overcast clouds at 1,500 feet agl, and a variable ceiling between 1,200 and 1,800 feet agl, in drizzle. Weather radar images at the time of the accident depicted precipitation at the elevation and location of the accident site, indicating probable mountain obscuration.

The air traffic controller had cleared the flight for the instrument approach and the pilot acknowledged the clearance. Radar data depicted the airplane turning toward the final approach course and then continuing the turn 180 degrees before disappearing from radar at 11,200 feet. The wreckage was located at an elevation of 10,725 feet. Examination of the terrain and ground scars indicated the airplane impacted terrain in a nose down, right turn. Impact forces and a postimpact fire resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. Examination of the airplane, engines, and de-icing systems revealed no mechanical anomalies. Weather at the time of the accident was depicted as overcast skies, reduced visibility, with snow showers in the area. An icing probability chart depicted a probability of moderate rime and mixed icing. Both AIRMETs and SIGMENTs advised of moderate icing between the freezing level and flight level 220 and occasional severe rime and mixed icing below 16,000 feet. During his weather briefing, the pilot stated that he was aware of the adverse weather conditions.

On final approach to Londrina-Governador José Richa airport in poor weather conditions, aircraft encountered windshear. It hit a small hill and eventually crashed in a field short of runway. All seven occupants injured and aircraft destroyed by fire.

About 2 hours into a cross-country flight over water, the pilot heard a noticeable change in engine noise and observed erratic engine torque readings. Moments later the airplane experienced a complete loss of engine power. After declaring an emergency, the pilot attempted to diagnose the problem and restart the engine to no avail. The airplane ditched 175 miles from land, in water over 5,000 feet deep. The airplane was not recovered and the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

En route from Basco to Tuguegarao, the crew encountered technical problems and elected to divert to the nearest airport for an emergency landing. The twin engine aircraft stalled and crashed in a river. All 13 occupants, among them two children, evacuated safely. The aircraft damaged beyond repair.

The instrument-rated pilot was executing a night instrument approach when the airplane impacted the water. The published approach minimums for the area navigation/global positioning system approach were 460-foot ceiling and one-mile visibility. Recorded air traffic control voice and radar data indicated that prior to the approach the pilot had turned to an approximately 180-degree heading and appeared to be heading in the direction of another airport. The controller reassigned the pilot a heading in order to intercept the final approach. The airplane was located in the water approximately 5,000 feet from the runway threshold. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left main landing gear was in the retracted position and the right main and nose landing gear were in the extended position. Examination of the left main landing gear actuator revealed no mechanical anomalies. The pilot had likely just commanded the landing gear to the down position and the landing gear was in transit. It is further possible that, as the gear was in transit, the airplane impacted the water in a left-wing and nose-down attitude and the left gear was forced to a gear-up position.

At the day of the accident, the pilot, accompanied by his wife, planned to fly from Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport to the Cottbus-Drewitz Special Airfield under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) with a Piper PA 46-350P. Prior to the flight he refueled 400 liters and submitted a flight plan. According to the radar recording of the responsible air traffic control center, the airplane started at 0923 hrs1 and flew the planned route at Flight Level (FL) 190 to Cottbus-Drewitz, following the flight plan. The airplane started to descend at approx. 1044 hrs. The Initial Approach Fix (IAF) Cottbus-Drewitz NDB (DRW) was overflown in an altitude of approx. 3,900 ft AMSL with a Ground Speed (GS) of approx. 170 kt, at approx. 1104 hrs, and the descent was continued for the approach NDB-RWY-25. After flying over the intermediate approach fix in approx. 2,800 ft AMSL with a GS of approx. 190 kt, the airplane flew a turn to the left in order to intercept the final approach. The radar recording ended at 1107:34 hrs. At that time the airplane was turning into the final approach in an altitude of 2,400 ft AMSL with a GS of approx. 200 kt. According to radar recordings of the German Federal Armed Forces, the airplane was captured several more times within the turn radius: at 1107:50 hrs in an altitude of 1,200 ft AMSL, at 1108:01 hrs in an altitude of 2,700 ft AMSL, and finally in 1,700 ft AMSL and 1,000 ft AMSL. The recording ended at 1108:21 hrs in an altitude of 600 ft AMSL. The airplane crashed into a field south of the Polish city of Gubin and caught fire. Both occupants lost their lives.

The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff the engine lost power momentarily, just before losing power completely. The pilot performed an emergency landing in a nearby field. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the forced landing. The airframe, engine, and engine accessories were examined. Fuel was noted at the engine, and no anomalies were revealed that would have contributed to the accident. The cause of the loss of power could not be determined.