At 1105 Eastern time the airplane was destroyed following an in-flight breakup while in cruise flight. Instrument conditions existed at the airplanes assigned cruise altitude and marginal visual conditions prevailed at the surface. The pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. While cruising at 9000 feet msl at 1102:00, the airplane made a 35-degree right turn to the east-northeast. At 1103:42, the airplane made a left turn to a heading of north. The airplane then entered a descending right spiral. During the next 40 seconds, the airplane descended from 9100 to 7800 feet msl. The calculated descent rate incrementally increased to approximately 4200 feet/min. At 1104:32, the final radar return was recorded without any altitude information. The pilot made no distress call and did not indicate the airplane was experiencing any mechanical difficulty during the accident flight.
May 12, 2008, Bristol, Ohio, Beech V35 Bonanza
At 1105 Eastern time the airplane was destroyed following an in-flight breakup while in cruise flight. Instrument conditions existed at the airplanes assigned cruise altitude and marginal visual conditions prevailed at the surface. The pilot and his passenger were fatally injured.
Key Takeaways:
- An airplane was destroyed by an in-flight breakup at 1105 Eastern time while cruising at 9000 feet MSL, fatally injuring the pilot and passenger.
- Instrument conditions prevailed at the cruise altitude, and the aircraft executed a series of turns before entering a rapidly descending right spiral.
- The airplane's descent rate incrementally increased to approximately 4200 feet/min, with no distress call or mechanical difficulty reported by the pilot prior to the final radar return.
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