20250402003709A

04/02/2025 20:10 CDT: the aircraft departed the base of operation crewed by an instrument rated commercial pilot and a flight instructor holding an ATP certificate to conduct IFR approaches for an instrument proficiency check and to build nighttime experience toward eligibility for a 14 CFR part 135 pilot position with the company. After departure, the flight crew climbed to 2,000’ and requested a local “pop up” clearance to conduct a round robin flight and shoot the ILS rwy 18 into khum followed by the RNAV rwy 18 into kgao, then return to the point of departure. Reported were 2 souls on board and 4 hours of fuel remaining. Approach gave “cleared to Houma airport via radar vectors, fly heading of 220, maintain 2,000”.

04/02/2025 20:16 CDT: the crew requested a higher altitude in search of smoother air “to get out of these bumps” and approach control cleared them for a climb up to 3000’.

04/02/2025 20:27 CDT: approach control provided an initial call with a left turn to 210, maintain at or above 2,000’ until established localizer to ILS 18, Houma. A short lapse in response, the control asked if they copied' the aircraft responded, “uh what’s the heading'”. The approach controller provided a repeat of the instructions. During the transmissions between approach control and the aircraft, weather information did not appear to be identified or mentioned.

04/02/2025 20:28 CDT: an aircrew self-announced on the CTAF that they were on the ILS 18 Houma.

04/02/2025 20:30 CDT: loss of radar identification occurred.

04/03/2025 08:30 CDT: search and rescue located the aircraft wreckage 7.6 miles north of khum.

04/03/2025 13:30 CDT: FAA iic on scene. The wreckage was found in a remote area of a marsh. Access was provided by the local sherrif’s office via airboat. The aircraft was observed submerged under the marsh with only a small section of the left wingtip above surface. The radius of the debris field was compact indicating a near vertical trajectory. There were 2 persons onboard, later verified as deceased by the local coroner’s office. An aeromedical “tox box” for each of the occupants was provided to the coroner for proper handling.

04/04/2025 13:30 CDT: FAA iic met with the 14 CFR part 135 operator’s management to review airmen and aircraft records. The records indicated that both the airmen and aircraft met regulatory requirements for the flight as conducted. Fuel records indicated approximately 2 hours of fuel onboard which would have been adequate for the flight as intended.

04/06/2025 08:00 CDT: FAA iic met with NTSB investigator along with manufacturer representatives for airframe and engine at the recovery service’s warehouse. The investigative team concluded the following observations: the aircraft was completely destroyed indicating extreme high energy impact. The primary components in post-crash form appeared to be present indicating the unlikelihood of an inflight break up. The engine and propeller damage signatures indicated the propeller was rotational under a low power setting. The aircraft instruments, radio and navigation equipment were lost on impact. The possibility of a functional aircraft before the event was high but could not be verified due to the severity of post-accident damage.

04/07/2025 07:00 CDT: review of weather conditions and radar data surrounding the event. Observations include: reportedly, the weather briefing was obtained by the flight crew via computer. Surface conditions at Houma were winds out of ssw at 19 KTS gusting to 26 KTS, 7 statute miles visibility with the ceiling overcast at 1,400’. Winds aloft between 1,000 and 3,000 were from the south at 20 to 30 KTS. A statement from a pilot sequenced behind the accident aircraft indicated that the actual conditions experienced were continuous moderate turbulence and windshear of +/- 15 KTS with clouds down to 1000’.

04/08/2025 07:00 CDT: awaiting medical examination results from FAA civil aerospace.