Huntsville International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Huntsville, Alabama 35824
Tuesady, January 11, 2005 18:18 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot contacted the HSV clearance delivery controller at 1807:53 to obtain the flight's IFR clearance, and, at 1814:04, the pilot contacted the HSV ground controller and advised he was ready to taxi. The controller stated at 1814:31, "... there's level five weather activity that is south of the airport moving to the northeast so it's going to be crossing the runway south of the airport about three miles ... there's level five weather activity about two and a half miles south of the airport now." The pilot replied that he was ready to take off from runway 18L and requested vectors around the weather. At 1816:30, the local controller cleared the flight for takeoff from 18L and assigned the pilot a left turn to heading 090. The airplane departed, and no further radio contact was received from the flight. The airplane crashed into a swamp less than 1 nautical mile from the airport. A review of the NEXRAD Level-II radar imagery for HSV at 0016Z, base reflectivities of 50 decibels (dBZ) were in the immediate vicinity of the airport. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction. According to FAA advisory circular AC-00-24b, "Thunderstorms," "VIP Level 5 is 'intense' with severe turbulence, lightning, hail likely, and organized surface wind gusts. ... Hazardous turbulence may extend as much as 20 miles from the echo edge ... ." AIM chapter 7-1-29, "Thunderstorm Flying," states, "Don't land or take off in the face of an approaching thunderstorm. A sudden gust front of low-level turbulence could cause loss of control."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to attempt flight into known adverse weather, which resulted in an in-flight encounter with a thunderstorm.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/11/2005
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1818
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Huntsville
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 35824
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 343745N
Event Location Longitude 0864520W
Event Location Airport Huntsville International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KHSV
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1.5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 629
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1815 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KHSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 629
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height 3800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KHSV 112153Z 20008KT 10SM SCT038 SCT065 OVC1
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21414
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 11 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2130
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2007 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA Birmingham FSDO - 09

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2467X
NTSB Number ATL05FA044
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model T206H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number T20608155
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 96.1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name N2467X, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2002B Houston Goodson Way
Aircraft Owner City Huntsville
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 35824
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Huntsville Flight Center
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KHSV
Departure City --
Departure State --
Departure Country --
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KFTY
Destination City Atlanta
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 29 2007 2:21PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --