April Accidents

From time to time we look at weather accidents, reviewing the factors that might have led to poor decision making or perhaps even weather that could not be anticipated. In this edition well take a look at the crash of a Pitts biplane in IMC conditions in California, and a Beechcraft Baron that went down in bad weather in Kentucky. Both of these incidents took place in April, so they should give you some food for thought this time of year.

Tim Vasquez

Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

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Pilot Jeff Hansen with his dog, Daisy. Hansen's Tree Service and Environmental Resources

Key Takeaways:

The article examines two fatal aviation accidents where pilots continued flights into adverse weather, highlighting the dangers of disregarding or misinterpreting critical meteorological information.
The first accident involved an experienced pilot flying a Pitts biplane VFR into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) in a mountain pass, failing to account for localized upslope clouds and terrain effects that created far worse conditions than airport forecasts suggested.
The second incident saw a Beechcraft Baron pilot with limited instrument time flying into severe icing, seemingly failing to fully visualize the briefed icing hazards and climbing into more dangerous altitudes.
A key takeaway is the importance of comprehensive weather visualization, especially concerning terrain interaction and icing, and the need to avoid overconfidence or being absorbed by other concerns when presented with conflicting or evolving weather data.

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From time to time we look at weather accidents, reviewing the factors that might have led to poor decision making or perhaps even weather that could not be anticipated. In this edition we’ll take a look at the crash of a Pitts biplane in IMC conditions in California, and a Beechcraft Baron that went down in bad weather in Kentucky. Both of these incidents took place in April, so they should give you some food for thought this time of year.

Springtime in Lebec

We bring you first the puzzling case of a biplane, a Robert C. Hanson Pitts S2E, that departed Bakersfield in VFR conditions but flew through a mountain pass, allowing the weather to close in around it. What is noteworthy is it was flown by an experienced airline pilot, age 36 with 8200 flight hours and type ratings in the A320, Beechjet BE-400, Hawker HS-125, and a few other business jets. Two weeks before the accident, the pilot had received an endorsement in an S2E that covered most important procedures.