Aiken Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Aiken, South Carolina 29805
Thursday, October 28, 2010 9:34 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight, an air traffic controller advised the non-instrument rated pilot that a broken line of weather with moderate-to-heavy precipitation existed, which extended almost to his destination airport. During the ensuing conversation, the pilot advised the controller that he was underneath the weather and that he had weather radar. The pilot then entered the weather in the vicinity of his destination airport. Radar imagery, witness statements, and measurements from local surface stations indicated that areas of light, moderate, and possibly heavy precipitation existed and that the airplane was most likely in instrument meteorological conditions in its final 2 minutes of flight. Review of radar data revealed that, after entering the weather, the pilot's altitude control became erratic, and the airplane entered an ever-tightening right turn, consistent with the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation. The airplane completed about two and a half 360-degree turns of progressively smaller diameter before radar contact was lost, and the airplane impacted terrain. No record of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing or filing a flight plan was discovered. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact malfunction or failure of the airplane or engine, and it did not reveal any evidence that on-board weather radar was installed. During the wreckage examination, the remains of a portable global positioning system receiver were discovered. The receiver was not certificated for use under instrument flight rules and was intended by the manufacturer to be used as an aid for VFR navigation. It was capable of displaying weather data and images from the NEXt-generation RADar (NEXRAD) ground radar network, but, unlike on-board weather radar, transmitted NEXRAD data is not real-time. The receiver manufacturer cautioned that the lapsed time between collection, processing, and dissemination of NEXRAD images can be significant, and, therefore, they should only be used for long-range planning purposes and not for short-range weather avoidance. Furthermore, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NEXRAD data or any radar data should not be used to penetrate hazardous weather. Rather, it should be used in an early-warning capacity of pre-departure and en route evaluation. As discussed in the Safety Alert issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on in-cockpit NEXRAD, because NEXRAD images present radar data from multiple ground sites as a single mosaic image, the age indicated on the NEXRAD image does not show the age of the actual weather conditions but rather represents the time when the mosaic image was created. The actual weather conditions could be up to 15 to 20 minutes older than the age indicated on the image. Both the FAA and the NTSB advise that advanced avionics weather data systems should not be used as a substitute for a pre-flight weather briefing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate weather planning and improper decision to continue a visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper use of in-cockpit next generation radar imagery for short-range weather avoidance.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/28/2010
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 934
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Aiken
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29805
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 333937N
Event Location Longitude 0813551W
Event Location Airport Aiken Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AIK
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 528
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 935 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 261
Weather Observation Facility ID AIK
Elevation of weather observation facility 528
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 800
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) 2
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29934
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 20 2012 7:22PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6655X
NTSB Number ERA11FA038
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 210A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 21057655
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 2 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 7988
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FBN of Catawba LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Maiden
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28650
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name FBN of Catawba LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Maiden
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 28650
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 No
Departure Airport Code ARW
Departure City Beaufort
Departure State SC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 920
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AIK
Destination City Aiken
Destination State SC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 17 2012 4:05PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --