N6509T – BEECH 19 – 2009-01-18 NTSB Accident Report

On January 18, 2009, a Beech 19 (N6509T) was involved in an incident near Lafayette, IN. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's inadvertent encounter with icing conditions during initial climb. Contributing to the accident were the lack of visibility during the landing due to an ice covered windscreen, and the structural ice that adversely affected the flight characteristics of the airplane.

Prior to the night flight, the pilot obtained a "full, low-level weather briefing" and filed an instrument rules flight plan. Shortly after departure, the pilot encountered icing conditions and began to experience a severe vibration in the aircraft flight controls at 5,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The pilot elected to return to the departure airport. During the instrument approach to land, the airplane continued to accumulate ice on the airframe, and continued toward the terrain in a 1,500 feet per minute descent. At 1,750 feet msl, the airplane "broke out of the clouds with the windscreen completely covered with ice." Subsequently, the airplane impacted the terrain approximately 40 feet short of the runway and skidded to a stop on the runway.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN09CA136. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N6509T.