N6579X

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 19, 2006, about 1110 (all times referenced are eastern daylight time), a Cessna 210A, N6579X, owned and piloted by a commercial pilot, crashed into remote mountainous terrain near Ludville, Georgia, after entering thunderstorms. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 while on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The accident flight departed Prattville/Grouby Field Airport, Prattville, Alabama, about 1005, and was en route to Manassas Regional/Harry P. Davis Field Airport (HEF), Manassas, Virginia.

The flight's planned route was over Rome, Georgia; Snowbird, Tennessee; Roanoke, Virginia; Montebello, Virginia; Casanova, Virginia; to HEF. The pilot's requested cruise altitude was 11,000 feet mean sea level. After departure, the pilot contacted Montgomery air traffic control and was cleared to climb to 10,000 feet. About 1011, the accident airplane was handed off to Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) sector 9. About 1018, the pilot checked in with Atlanta ARTCC and reported that he was climbing through 8,000 feet for 10,000 feet. The accident airplane was then cleared to 11,000 feet. About 1026, the pilot was told to contact Atlanta ARTCC sector 4 when the airplane was level at 11,000 feet. When the airplane reached 11,000 feet, the pilot contacted Atlanta ARTCC sector 4 and was given the local altimeter setting.

About 1038, another controller took over the sector 4 radar position, and the outgoing controller provided a position relief briefing. Included in that briefing was information about an area of severe weather north of Atlanta that was causing departing aircraft to deviate to the west instead of continuing northbound after takeoff. The briefing did not include specific references to the accident airplane. About 1045, the sector 4 controller told the pilot to contact Atlanta ARTCC sector 5. About 1046, the pilot checked in with the sector 5 controller and reported being level at 11,000 feet. The pilot was subsequently given two local altimeter settings. About 1100, the pilot was told to contact Atlanta ARTCC sector 38. The pilot checked in about 1101, stating that he was level at 11,000 feet. The pilot's initial call did not receive a response, so he repeated it, and the sector 38 controller provided the local altimeter setting.

About 1109, the pilot transmitted, "Atlanta, this is seven niner x-ray I'd like to deviate south weather." The controller replied, "Six five seven niner x-ray roger we'll show you deviating south for weather and your mode C indicates one one thousand five hundred." The pilot did not respond. About 1110, radar contact was lost with the airplane at 5,500 feet.

A plot of the aircraft radar track data indicated that the airplane entered a level 6 (extreme) thunderstorm before the loss of radar contact. Local law enforcement located the wreckage on April 20, 2006. The airplane impacted remote mountainous terrain about 3.3 nautical miles (nm) northwest of Ludville.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot, age 84, held a commercial certificate with airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane ratings. The pilot's multiengine airplane rating was limited to visual flight rules (VFR). The pilot's last aviation medical examination was completed on December 14, 2004, when he was issued a third-class medical certificate with the restriction "Must wear lenses for distance vision and possess glasses for near vision."

On the pilot's application for his most recent medical certificate, he reported his total flight experience exceeded 9,000 hours. The pilot's logbook recovered at the accident site indicated that he had flown 95.5 hours during the previous 12 months, 28.5 hours during the prior 6 months, and 23.1 hours during the previous 30 days. During the prior year, all of the pilot's logged flights were in the accident airplane. The pilot's last flight review was competed on August 27, 2004.

The pilot's logbook indicated that his total flight experience in actual instrument conditions was 423.1 hours and that an additional 106.0 hours were accumulated using a view-limiting device. The pilot logged 5.4 hours of instrument flight time and completed two instrument approaches during the previous 12 months. The pilot had not logged any instrument flight time or instrument approaches during the 6 months before the accident flight. According to the logbook, the pilot did not receive instrument instruction or complete an instrument proficiency flight within the previous 12 months.

The pilot formerly was an aeronautical research pilot with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During his 5 years with NACA, he flew the X-1, XF-92, X-4, X-5, Douglas D-558-I Skystreak, and the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket. On November 20, 1953, he became the first human to fly faster than twice the speed of sound in the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket. From 1955 to 1960, he was employed by North American Aviation as the chief engineering test pilot during the development and testing of the X-15 rocketplane.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The accident airplane was a 1960 Cessna 210A, serial number 21057579. The Cessna 210A was an all-metal airplane that incorporated a semimonocoque fuselage and empennage design. The airplane was equipped with externally braced wings, wing flaps, a constant speed propeller, and a retractable tricycle landing gear. The airplane was configured to seat four occupants and had a certified maximum takeoff weight of 2,900 pounds.

Owned and operated by the accident pilot, the airplane was issued an FAA standard airworthiness certificate on December 6, 1960. The FAA issued the current aircraft registration certificate on December 11, 1989. The airplane (and its engine) had a total service time of 4,987.4 hours at the time of the accident. The last annual inspection was completed on March 19, 2006, and the airplane had accumulated 27.5 hours since the inspection. On March 22, 2006, tests on the static system, altimeter system, automatic pressure altitude reporting system, and transponder were completed. A review of the airframe maintenance records found no history of unresolved operational issues.

The airplane was equipped with a 260-horsepower Teledyne Continental Motors IO-470-E engine, serial number 77583-0-E. The IO-470-E is a six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, 470 cubic inch displacement, fuel-injected, reciprocating engine. The engine had accumulated 1,259.8 hours since the last major overhaul. A review of the engine maintenance records found no history of unresolved operational issues.

The propeller was a three-bladed McCauley D3A36C435/80VEA-0, hub serial number 042476. The propeller was installed on the accident engine on October 13, 2005.

The airplane was equipped with a BFGoodrich WX 950 stormscope, a Garmin GNC 250 GPS/Com (global positioning system), and a Garmin GNS 430 GPS/Com/Nav. The GNC 250 was limited to VFR flight only. The Garmin GNS 430 system was approved for IFR domestic flight, including en route and non-precision approaches.

On April 17, the airplane was topped off with 77.1 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation fuel at the departure airport. The accident occurred during the first flight after being refueled.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At the time of the accident, the area forecast for northern Georgia expected an area of IFR to marginal VFR conditions during the morning hours, with isolated thunderstorms and moderate rain expected after 1000. These thunderstorms had a possibility of being severe, with cloud tops reaching 43,000 feet.

About 0856, the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center described an ongoing cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms moving into northern Georgia, as a forward-propagating Mesoscale Convective System or squall line. The area was expected to further destabilize by midday because of surface heating, thus, enhancing the threat of organized severe thunderstorms and supercell thunderstorms. These thunderstorms had the high likelihood of producing hail, damaging high winds, and possible tornadoes.

Imagery from Geostationary Operations Environmental Satellite number 12 depicted cumulonimbus clouds associated with the squall line. These clouds extended from extreme northeastern Alabama, across northern Georgia, southern Tennessee, and into western North and South Carolina. The accident site was located on the southern side of the system where cloud tops were near 37,000 feet. Higher cloud tops of 46,000 feet were observed to the west of the accident site and were associated with the observed squall line. According to aircraft radar track data, the accident airplane's last radar return was located under the anvil of a cumulonimbus cloud.

The closest NWS Weather Surveillance Radar, WSR-88D, was located at the Peachtree City Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, approximately 70 miles south of the accident site. Based on radar height calculations, the 0.5-degree elevation scan depicted the weather conditions, which were encompassing altitudes between 4,400 to 11,460 feet over the accident site. The accident airplane's assigned cruise altitude was 11,000 feet. The base reflectivity images surrounding the accident airplane's flightpath indicated a large cluster of level 5 to 6 (intense to extreme) echoes moving southward across northern Georgia. These observed echoes intersected the airplane's recorded flightpath and were consistent with those of a heavy precipitation supercell thunderstorm.

Between 1100 and 1115, the National Lightning Detection Network detected 55 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within...