At 17:29 mountain time, a Beech 65-A90 struck water while descending near Lake Point. The pilot and eight passengers were killed. Instrument conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan had been filed but was never activated. The pilot and passengers had flown to Mesquite Jan. 12 to skydive and were returning to Tooele when the accident occurred. The pilot obtained a weather briefing and filed a VFR flight plan. He advised the briefer he could make [an] IFR approach if necessary. The owner said the airplane was equipped for VFR flight only, and the only navigational receiver on board was a hand-held GPS receiver. Witnesses in the vicinity of the accident site said there was light snow falling and visibility was about -mile. Radar data indicates the airplane did not fly the filed route but rather flew direct to Tooele. It passed over the Tooele Airport and flew out over the Great Salt Lake, where it began a 2,000 fpm descending left turn. The wreckage was located about a half-mile offshore and about 2 miles north of the Tooele Airport.
Jan. 14, Lake Point, Utah / Beech King Air
At 17:29 mountain time, a Beech 65-A90 struck water while descending near Lake Point. The pilot and eight passengers were killed. Instrument conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan had been filed but was never activated. The pilot and passengers had flown to Mesquite Jan. 12 to skydive and were returning to Tooele when the accident occurred. The pilot obtained a weather briefing and filed a VFR flight plan. He advised the briefer he could make [an] IFR approach if necessary. The owner said the airplane was equipped for VFR flight only, and the only navigational receiver on board was a hand-held GPS receiver. Witnesses in the vicinity of the accident site said there was light snow fallin...
Key Takeaways:
- A Beech 65-A90 crashed near Lake Point, killing the pilot and eight passengers, while flying in instrument meteorological conditions with limited visibility.
- Despite the pilot stating he could perform an IFR approach, the aircraft was equipped for VFR flight only and had only a hand-held GPS for navigation.
- The VFR flight plan was never activated, and radar showed the aircraft deviated from its filed route, overflying the destination airport before initiating a rapid descent into the Great Salt Lake.
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