N593MS

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 13, 2018, at 1058 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N593MS, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Westhampton Beach, New York. The flight instructor, a private pilot and a passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight.

The flight instructor departed Waterbury Oxford Airport (OXC), Oxford, Connecticut, and landed at Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR), Danbury, Connecticut, to pick up the private pilot and passenger for the flight to Charleston Executive Airport (JZI), Charleston, South Carolina. Text messages from the flight instructor to another student indicated that the instructor planned to fly back alone after dropping off the private pilot and the passenger. Radar and voice communication information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed that the airplane departed DXR around 1025. At 1026:47, the instructor requested visual flight rules (VFR) flight following from the air traffic controller and announced a planned climb to 8,500 ft mean sea level (msl), and an on-course heading of 219°. At 1037:06, the instructor checked in with the controller at 9,200 ft msl, and radar data showed the airplane's ground track still in a southeasterly direction. When queried by the controller, the instructor replied that he was climbing to 11,500 ft msl, and that his heading would be 223°. The airplane's ground track continued southeast.

At 1042:51, the instructor indicated to the controller that he was climbing another 1,000 ft to be "VFR-on-top," but the airplane continued to climb after passing through 12,500 ft msl. At 1045:33, the instructor checked in with the controller at 15,000 ft msl and the controller responded, "Just be advised that where you are, right at your altitude, I've had numerous reports that it's currently IMC [instrument meteorological conditions]," and asked the instructor to confirm that the airplane was in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The instructor responded that they were in VMC and trying to maintain VMC and requested vectors due to an "unreliable" attitude indicator. The instructor then added that the airplane was "in and out of IMC." At 1046, the controller declared an emergency on behalf of the pilot and attempted to locate VFR conditions.

At 1048:05, the controller advised the instructor to start a left turn to a heading of 300° because VFR conditions were below 10,000 ft msl in that direction. The instructor confirmed the heading; however, radar data indicated that the airplane's ground track continued southeast; the airplane was at an altitude of 16,525 ft msl.

At 1049:47, the controller noted that the airplane was in a slow right turn and queried the instructor, who responded, "We are maintaining straight and level. We do have the sun above us and we're using the sun as (unintelligible)." The controller responded, "3MS, roger, looks like you are in a little bit of a righthand turn. I know you said your attitude indicator was bad. Do you have a turn and slip that you could level off the wings with?" The instructor responded affirmatively. The controller suggested that the instructor level the wings and advise when ready to make a turn toward the west, and the instructor acknowledged. Radar data indicated that the airplane was climbing through 17,000 ft msl about this time.

At 1051:14, the controller suggested that the instructor commence a standard rate turn either left or right for 1 minute to head toward a nearby airport, and the instructor asked the altitude of the cloud tops. The controller responded that the last report had indicated the cloud tops were about 19,000 ft msl, and the instructor responded that he was going to climb to 19,000 ft msl.

At 1052:23, the instructor reported that the airplane was "VFR-on-top" and again requested radar vectors. The controller directed a turn to 300°; however, the instructor did not acknowledge this vector, responded that he would not be able to descend into the clouds and that they were "VFR-on- top"; then the instructor again requested a vector to VFR conditions.

At 1053:19, the controller again suggested a turn to the west, and the instructor replied that they were turning west. Nearly 2 minutes later, at 1055:08, the instructor indicated that they were starting to turn to the west; the airplane was at an altitude of about 19,400 ft msl. The controller suggested that the instructor establish a standard rate turn; however, radar data showed that the airplane began a sequence of turns in the shape of a figure eight.

At 1056:59, the airplane entered an abrupt, descending turn. The controller advised the instructor that the airplane was in a sharp, turning descent and recommended that the instructor try to level the wings using the turn and slip indicator. The instructor responded that the airplane was in a descent. The controller again advised the instructor to try to level the wings using the turn and slip indicator; the instructor responded that the airplane was descending. There were no further transmissions from the airplane and radar contact was lost shortly thereafter, about 1058.

A witness near the accident site reported seeing the airplane "nosedive" from out of the clouds and into the ocean after hearing the engine "throttle up severely and wind back down" several times. A second witness stated that the airplane sounded "as if it were a stunt plane doing spins (pitch changing)," then heard a "pop" and saw pieces of metal descending from the sky. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONFlight Instructor

The instructor held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single- and multi- engine, and instrument airplane. He also held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land, with commercial privileges for airplane multi-engine land and single-engine sea, and a mechanic certificate with ratings for airframe and powerplant. He owned and operated Oxford Flight Training in Oxford, Connecticut. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued July 18, 2018, at which time he reported 4,000 total hours of flight experience. Review of the instructor's logbook showed that his most recent instrument proficiency check flight was on December 16, 2016. No logbook entries after that date included simulated or actual instrument flight time. Examination of FAA airman records revealed that his pilot and instructor certificates were revoked in 2011 for falsifying logbook entries and that his mechanic certificate was suspended in 2011 for the "careless and reckless" operation of an airplane in an unairworthy condition.

A flight instructor at Oxford Flight Training stated that he did not believe that the accident instructor was instrument current at the time of the accident. He stated that the instructor was "always about getting VFR-on-top" because he did not like being vectored around New York by ATC. Several other pilots who had flown with the accident instructor stated that they had requested special VFR clearances when flying with the instructor. One pilot reported multiple flights during which the instructor disregarded required cloud clearances and instrument-approach minima.

Private Pilot

The private pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single- engine land. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued August 27, 1986, and he reported no flight experience at that time. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was registered to the flight instructor in June 2018. Review of maintenance records showed that when the most recent annual inspection was completed by the flight instructor on September 10, 2018, the left engine had accrued 2,337.8 hours of flight time and the right engine had accrued 1,097.5 hours of flight time. The maintenance record included the statement, "replaced right vacuum pump with overhauled." Other maintenance records showed that the left engine vacuum pump was replaced on May 21, 2012; however, examination of the left engine vacuum pump revealed that the half of the data plate with the model number and serial number was missing, thus the logbook information could not be confirmed.

A flight instructor at Oxford Flight Training stated that, in August 2018, several weeks before the accident, one of the accident airplane's vacuum pumps had been not working. In addition, he said that it was necessary to reset the directional gyroscope every 10 minutes by flying straight and level and resetting it to match the magnetic compass. He stated that the accident instructor was aware of this issue and would "just compensate for it."

Between the annual inspection and the accident flight, there were no maintenance entries associated with the right vacuum pump. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe northeast section of the National Weather Service (NWS) Surface Analysis Chart for 1100 depicted a low-pressure system off the New York Long Island coast with a cold front extending southwest to another low off the North Carolina coast. The station models in the area depicted a west-to-northwest wind of about 10 knots, overcast cloud cover with multiple stations reporting light continuous rain, and temperature dew point spreads of 2º F or less.

The NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC) constant pressure chart for 500 hPa for 0800 depicted the conditions at 18,000 ft msl as an upper-level trough of low pressure extending south from Canada, across western New York and Pennsylvania, and into West Virginia. This upper-level disturbance was referenced in NWS advisories as the principle reason for clouds and precipitation that were expected over the region during the period.

The ceiling at DXR, the departure airport, at the time of departure was broken at 4,100 ft above ground level (agl) and overcast at 4,900 ft agl.

A High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) sounding for 1100 supported multiple layers of...