Date & Time:
Jan 11, 1980 at 0123 LT
Type of aircraft:
Cessna 441 Conquest
Operator:
Nichols Construction
Registration:
N441NC
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Private
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Shreveport – Baton Rouge
MSN:
441-0099
YOM:
1979
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total hours on type:
65
Circumstances:
After takeoff from Shreveport, the twin engine airplane climbed to its assigned altitude when the pilot obtained the permission to modify his route to avoid a storm. Then the aircraft flew to the east and climbed to the excessive altitude of 41,600 feet (some 6,600 feet above the maximum certified altitude for the aircraft) and the radio contact was lost with the pilot. An Air National Guard Convair F-106 Delta Dart fighter aircraft was dispatched and its pilot confirmed that both occupants seems to be unconscious. After few minutes, both engines stopped due to lack of fuel and the airplane entered a spin and eventually crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles east of Norfolk, Virginia. Few debris were found floating on water but the main wreckage was never found as well as both occupants, the pilot Louis Benscotter and the football and baseball coach Robert Edward 'Bo' Rein aged 34.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined. However, the assumption that the accident was the result of a cabin depressurization that caused hypoxia due to a lack of oxygen was not ruled out.
Final Report:
N441NC.pdf76.74 KB
