N3963Y

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 22, 2011, about 2146 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 210D, N3963Y, was substantially damaged following a collision with terrain at Altavista, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Night, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Winchester Regional Airport, Winchester, Virginia, about 1956.

Examination of voice recordings with air traffic control revealed the following. At 1952:12, the pilot informed Potomac Clearance Delivery that he was ready for takeoff. At 1958:22, the pilot checked in with Potomac Terminal Approach Control (TRACON) and was instructed to climb to 8,000 feet. At 2013:30, a controller with Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) commented to Potomac TRACON, "but he was on like a two seventy heading and I asked him where he was going and he told me direct Lynchburg so I would keep an eye on him." At 2020:59, the pilot stated to Potomac TRACON, "uh Potomac six three yankee just a little disoriented here." The pilot was then offered vectors toward Lynchburg, which he accepted.

For the next 15 minutes, the pilot received vectors from Potomac TRACON. Potomac TRACON also provided vectors around moderate precipitation in the area.

At 2042:41, the pilot checked in with Lynchburg West radar at 8,000 feet and received vectors for the Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to runway 4 at Lynchburg Regional Airport (LYH). At 2059:33, the Lynchburg West controller stated to LYH tower, "yeah this is a heads up ah six three yankee is ah transitioning through ah your airspace in your departure corridor I gave him like ah one ninety heading I guess that didn't work for him." At 2112:30, the pilot was handed off to LYH tower for the ILS approach to runway 4.

At 2115:51, LYH tower informed Lynchburg West that the pilot of N3963Y was executing a missed approach and that the pilot cited problems with his "engine monitor." At 2116:26, the pilot requested another ILS approach to runway 4. At 2121:30, after the pilot had been instructed to climb and maintain 3,000 feet, Lynchburg West informed him, "…six three yankee low altitude alert ah the mva [minimum vectoring altitude] in your area is two thousand eight hundred I show you at two thousand two hundred sir." The pilot responded, "that's affirmative I'm just trying to get the vors [VHF Omnidirectional Receivers] in here six three yankee."

At 2122:40, Lynchburg West asked the pilot if he would like a Global Positioning System (GPS) approach and the pilot replied that he would prefer another ILS approach. At 2123:24, Lynchburg West called LYH tower and informed the controller that he was keeping the pilot on his frequency and would not be handing him off to tower. LYH issued a landing clearance and responded, "…you can keep him."

At 2123:59, as the pilot attempted the ILS approach for a second time, Lynchburg West queried the pilot, "…are you on the localizer now sir?" The pilot responded that he was, and Lynchburg West stated, at 2124:05, "november six three ah yankee I'm showing you well right of course ah sir advise you climb immediately maintain three thousand." The pilot acknowledged and Lynchburg West stated, at 2124:17, "november six three yankee ah low altitude alert once again climb immediately maintain three thousand." The pilot acknowledged the climb to 3,000 feet.

At 2125, Lynchburg West confirmed that the airplane was equipped with a GPS and offered clearance to KILBE intersection to fly the GPS approach to runway 4. The pilot acknowledged the transmission by stating, "…that'd be okay six three yankee." At 2127:47, Lynchburg West told the pilot, "…I'll let you play with your altitude as much as you need um just try to stay at least above two thousand eight hundred." The pilot acknowledged the transmission.

At 2130:57, Lynchburg West cleared the pilot for the GPS approach to runway 4. The pilot reported, at 2132:49, "…I'm gonna need to make a three sixty right here I'm still having some trouble with my engine monitors."

At 2134:20, the pilot was informed of another low altitude alert and was instructed to climb immediately to 2,800 feet or above and the pilot informed Lynchburg West that he was climbing. At 2136:08, the pilot stated, "ah Roanoke I've got ah complete gyro failure it looks like I need some help with ah both heading and ah altitude monitoring." At 2136:58, Lynchburg West began to provide no-gyro vectors to the pilot. Lynchburg West asked the pilot if he was tracking the LYH VOR, and the pilot responded, "um I'm a little dizzy thanks."

At 2138:38, the pilot stated to Lynchburg West, "I'm currently showing about five thousand two hundred elevation." The controller replied, "that altitude checks."

At 2141:28, Lynchburg West made the following remarks to Washington ARTCC, "um november six three yankee um is the call sign of that aircraft Centurion um the pilot is very disoriented um he reported some equipment problems um he apparently ah he reports he lost he lost his altitude readout and his um gyros um so he's trying to work out um all that but I really do feel like um this pilot is disoriented more than anything else um the last altitude check I had with him was okay um I gave him instructions for no no gyro vectors he was not really picking up on that…"

At 2142:35, the pilot stated, "ah can you give me a course heading six three yankee?" Lynchburg West responded, "…I show you tracking roughly about a one two zero heading."

At 2144:23, Lynchburg West informed the pilot that Washington Center and Greensboro Approach were looking for airports with more favorable weather conditions. The pilot was also informed that any approach into LYH was at the pilot's disposal, including no-gyro vectors. At 2144:58, the pilot responded with his last recorded transmission, "ah roger that I'm gonna turn ah right to ah one eight zero start tracking outbound see if I can't ah get back in line with the ah ah approach and see if you can give me ah a no gyro approach as well."

At 2146:17, Lynchburg West made the following transmission, "november six three ah yankee I show your altitude at one thousand four hundred climb immediately at or above two thousand eight hundred." No response was received from the pilot.

An examination of recorded radar data revealed that the last radar return was at 2146:14, at an altitude of 1,100 feet mean sea level (msl). The recorded radar track was consistent with a right, descending spiral. A review of the last 15 minutes of recorded data revealed that, prior to the last descending spiral, the airplane was continuously turning to the left and right, and varied in altitude between 5,900 feet and 1,600 feet msl.

A witness who lived near the accident site reported that the airplane flew over his house at high speed, in a descending, right hand turn, until it crashed. He estimated the bank angle to be about 80 degrees. He stated that the engine sounded normal when it flew over his house. He reported that the weather conditions at the time were "very dark and foggy."

Three witnesses were interviewed who were located about two nautical miles west of the accident site at the time of the accident. One of these witnesses reported that he was outside and saw an airplane fly over very low. The airplane was so low that the lights on the bottom of the airplane were visible. The airplane "porpoised" up and down about four times. The engine sound increased as the airplane dove, then decreased as it climbed. The airplane went away and returned a few seconds later, not porpoising the second time. The engine noise was then "steady." He reported the weather conditions at the time to be foggy, with rain.

A second witness in the same area observed an airplane making several left race track patterns over his house. He could see the lights of the airplane through the clouds, and it was foggy at the time. He stated that, at first, the engine made a sputtering sound, but later it sounded normal. He heard a whistling sound as the airplane sped up, then it crashed.

A third witness in the same area stated that an airplane came over her house so low that it "kicked her TV off." The airplane initially made two circles over her house, and the engine was popping and sputtering. She then heard the airplane going toward the airport, and she thought it had landed. The airplane then returned at a higher altitude. She heard the engine cut out, and then cut back on. She observed the airplane lights come out of the clouds, heading toward English Field. The airplane made a "weird whining sound" and a few seconds later she heard a "boom" and knew the airplane had crashed.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The certificated private pilot held airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. A review of his pilot logbook revealed that, through April 15, 2011, he recorded about 295 hours total flying time. He also recorded 22.9 hours of night time; however, he had recorded zero hours in night, instrument conditions. He recorded 5.4 hours in actual instrument conditions as of April 15, 2011 and 50.6 hours in simulated instrument conditions. The pilot was issued a temporary airman certificate for an instrument airplane rating on March 9, 2011.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a single-engine, high-wing, retractable gear airplane, serial number 21058463. It was powered by a Continental IO-520A engine rated at 285 horsepower.

A review of the aircraft maintenance records indicated that an annual inspection of the airframe and engine was performed on September 28, 2010. The aircraft total time at the time of the annual inspection was 6,910.7 hours.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The 2154 recorded weather observation at LYH, located approximately 14 nautical mi...