Hollister Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Panoche, California 95043
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 19:55 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was delivering the single engine airplane from England to the west coast of the United States. According to his resume, he had piloted 196 Atlantic crossings in general aviation airplanes. The trip began about 1 week before the accident. The flights from England to Maine, with a pilot-rated passenger on board, consisted of 6 legs, with a total flight time of about 27 hours over a period of about 96 hours. The passenger and pilot separated in Bangor, Maine, and the pilot continued to Kentucky that same day, with an additional 2 legs and 6 hours flight time. He spent a total of 13 hours on the ground in Kentucky before departing early in the morning on the day of the accident. The first leg was 5 hours followed by a fuel stop. The next leg was 3 hours 20 minutes, and another fuel stop was made. The pilot then departed on the accident leg to his destination in California. The pilot flew the over 4-hour accident leg under visual flight rules using air traffic control flight following services. He flew directly between waypoints instead of on established airways. The airplane was equipped with a panel-mounted GPS unit with altitude information capability, and the pilot’s iPad was equipped with current flight planning and guidance software, and electronic navigation charts. The pilot had access to sufficient information in flight to remain clear of terrain, but the investigation was unable to determine whether the pilot accessed that information during any part of that flight leg. When the airplane was about 65 miles from its destination, the pilot began a steady descent from his cruise altitude of 12,500 feet, which he had flown without supplemental oxygen. The destination elevation was 230 feet. Due to coverage limitations, radar contact with the airplane was lost when it was descending through 5,100 feet. At this point, the airplane was 46 miles from its destination, and the controller cancelled the flight-following services. There were no further communications from the pilot; up to this point, he had acknowledged all transmissions from ATC. Twelve miles after flight-following services were cancelled, the airplane impacted a hillside at an elevation of about 1,960 feet. Ground scar and wreckage information indicated that the airplane impacted in a wings-level attitude on a near-horizontal flight path. The airplane was highly fragmented and damaged by postimpact fire. Evidence was consistent with the landing gear and flaps retracted. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Darkness prevailed at the time of the accident, and AIRMETs for mountain obscuration were current for the time and location of the accident. Satellite and weather radar data suggested the presence of instrument meteorological conditions along parts of the airplane’s route, but the investigation was unable to determine whether the pilot encountered or entered instrument meteorological conditions during the descent. Extrapolation of radar-derived speed and descent rate data indicated that the airplane descended steadily on track from cruise to the impact point. The pilot’s autopsy indicated that the cause of death was multiple blunt trauma injuries, with no adverse pre-existing conditions. The effects of possible fatigue or hypoxia on the pilot’s performance could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s lack of situational awareness regarding the surrounding terrain while descending during dark night conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/14/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1955
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Panoche
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95043
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 363141N
Event Location Longitude 1205035W
Event Location Airport Hollister Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CVH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 230
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2005 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID CVH
Elevation of weather observation facility 230
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 34
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 3000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
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) 33120
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 9 2014 3:24PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Unknown
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N364AB
NTSB Number WPR12FA139
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 BEECH
Aircraft Model B36
Aircraft Series Identifier TC
Aircraft Serial Number EA-519
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 9 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1302
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jim Lafferty Aircraft Sales
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City San Jose
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95110
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jim Lafferty Aircraft Sales
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City San Jose
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95110
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SJN
Departure City St Johns
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1605
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code CVH
Destination City Hollister
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 9 2014 3:57PM
User who most recently changed record coos
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 --