At 1651 central time, a Pilatus PC-6 crashed following an uncontrolled descent approximately 14 miles northeast of Vigo Park. The pilot bailed out and was not injured. The pilot said he was in cruise flight at 12,500 feet msl, the airplane experienced clear air turbulence. The pilot stated he reduced the throttle to idle and initiated a decent. Subsequently, the airplane pitched nose down to a nearly vertical attitude. The pilot said he accidentally placed the throttle into a reverse pitch state, and was unable to bring the power back up. After the airplane attained a rate of descent of 12,000 feet per minute, the pilot bailed out and deployed his parachute.
August 28, Vigo Park, Texas / Pilatus Porter
At 1651 central time, a Pilatus PC-6 crashed following an uncontrolled descent approximately 14 miles northeast of Vigo Park. The pilot bailed out and was not injured. The pilot said he was in cruise flight at 12,500 feet msl, the airplane experienced clear air turbulence. The pilot stated he reduced the throttle to idle and initiated a decent. Subsequently, the airplane pitched nose down to a nearly vertical attitude. The pilot said he accidentally placed the throttle into a reverse pitch state, and was unable to bring the power back up. After the airplane attained a rate of descent of 12,000 feet per minute, the pilot bailed out and deployed his parachute....
Key Takeaways:
- A Pilatus PC-6 crashed near Vigo Park after an uncontrolled descent following an encounter with clear air turbulence.
- The pilot, who was uninjured, safely bailed out of the aircraft after it pitched nose-down to a nearly vertical attitude.
- The uncontrolled descent was attributed to the pilot accidentally placing the throttle into a reverse pitch state, preventing power recovery.
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