# Accident 20170428003729A: Pilatus PC-12, Amarillo, TX, April 28, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 28, 2017, 23:48 local time
- Place: Amarillo, TX
- Airport: Rick Husband Amarillo Internat
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: R4CA
- Location: 35.1964° N, 101.7047° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1964&lon=-101.7047&mi=10
- Aircraft: N933DC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N933DC-2019-11-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Pilatus PC-12 (registry code 7090550, https://openairdocs.org/model/pilatus-pc-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-6 series (registry code 52150, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-6-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PILATUS PC-12
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 5,861 total, 61 in this make and model, 28 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN17FA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17FA168) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170428003729A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON APRIL 28, 2017, AT APPROXIMATELY 2349 CDT, N933DC,  A PILATUS PC-12 DEPARTED FROM THE RICK HUSBAND AMARILLO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KAMA) RUNWAY 4 AT INTERSECTION A.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A CLIMBING RIGHT TURN TO 8,000 FEET MSL.  AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST APPROXIMATELY 2 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH OF RUNWAY 22, WHERE THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED LEVEL TERRAIN AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED.  THE AIR AMBULANCE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR 135 AND WAS ON AN IFR CLEARANCE AT THE TIME THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE PILOT AND TWO MEDICAL PERSONNEL SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM RICK HUSBAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KAMA) ON APRIL 28, 2017, AT 2345 CDT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CEN17FA168](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17FA168), Apr 29, 2017: Pilatus PC 12 (N933DC), Amarillo, TX, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation during the initial climb after takeoff in night instrument meteorological conditions and moderate turbulence.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.