What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) The pilot stated the autopilot in the "on" position and functioning when he leveled off at 16,000 feet in IMC conditions. He started updating his approach book, which required his looking away from the instruments. When he next looked at the instrumnts, he assumed they had failed, as they did not show level flight. He noticed the altimeter showing a rapid loss of altitude. He broke out of the clouds and recovered to level flight at about 6,000 feet. He overstressed the aircraft during the recovery from the rapid descent causing substantial structural damage. The pilot and passenger were uninjured.
As the FAA filed it
(-23) THE PILOT STATED THE AUTOPILOT IN THE "ON" POSITION AND FUNCTIONING WHEN HE LEVELED OFF AT 16,000 FEET IN IMC CONDITIONS. HE STARTED UPDATING HIS APPROACH BOOK, WHICH REQUIRED HIS LOOKING AWAY FROM THE INSTRUMENTS. WHEN HE NEXT LOOKED AT THE INSTRUMNTS, HE ASSUMED THEY HAD FAILED, AS THEY DID NOT SHOW LEVEL FLIGHT. HE NOTICED THE ALTIMETER SHOWING A RAPID LOSS OF ALTITUDE. HE BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS AND RECOVERED TO LEVEL FLIGHT AT ABOUT 6,000 FEET. HE OVERSTRESSED THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE RECOVERY FROM THE RAPID DESCENT CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE UNINJURED.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.