Pilot's Failure To Maintain Aircraft Control During Climb
Caused In-Flight Break-Up
The
final NTSB report released April 25 on the downing of a Cessna
150G September 4, 2006 was attributed to the pilot's failure to
maintain aircraft control during flight, resulting in exceeding the
design stress limits of the airplane and an in-flight breakup.
Additional factors associated with the accident were the pilot's
continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological
conditions and his spatial disorientation.
Weather conditions included low clouds and visibility in light
to heavy rain. AIRMETs for IFR conditions and mountain obscuration
were issued about 1½ hours before the Cessna took off; the
pilot, Ira R. Nash, did not contact any flight service stations or
utilize DUATS to obtain a weather briefing or file a flight
plan.
A relative, however, reported that the pilot had checked the
weather and found that it "looked ok above 2,500 (feet)."
Nash and his wife Erika were killed in the crash near Penhook,
VA which occurred shortly after his Cessna 150G left Smith Mountain
Lake Airport in Moneta, VA and suffered an in-flight
breakup during a VFR cross-country flight to Florence Regional
Airport, Florence, SC.
Nash was rated for single-engine land craft, issued less than
three months before the crash. He did not hold an instrument
rating.
According to ATC communication and radar, the pilot contacted
Roanoke approach, requesting VFR following services.
Seven minutes later, the pilot asked the controller, "Do you
know what that ceiling is for these clouds we have up here?" The
controller responded that the only report he had regarding cloud
tops was several hours old and that another aircraft reported being
"between layers" from 9,000 to 10,000 feet.
Four minutes later, contacting the Washington Air Route Traffic
Control Center, Nash requested a radar vector, saying, "We're kind
lost in some fog here."
When asked to state his heading, Nash replied, "I can't tell, I
think we're upside-down."
The controller instructed the pilot to turn right and 18 seconds
later advised the pilot to stop the turn. During this time, the
airplane had completed a left turn, with an altitude varying
between 4,500 and 4,700 feet.
About ten seconds later, the pilot stated, "We can't see, we
can't see, we can't see," followed shortly by an intelligible
statement. No further transmissions were received from the pilot
and radar contact was lost.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud sound and then saw the wings
of the airplane descend to the ground detached from the
fuselage.