CHI98FA153

The accident airplane's pilot obtained a weather briefing for the accident flight the night before the flight. He filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan with the intention of flying the airplane at 154 knots. The airplane departed on the IFR flight plan and climbed to 6,900 feet above mean sea level (MSL) and maintained that altitude for about four minutes while on a southwesterly heading. Weather information showed cloud bases and tops to be about 6,000 and 10,000 feet MSL respectively in the airplane's immediate vicinity. The altitude began to vary about 200 to 300 feet above and below 6,900 feet MSL. The airplane's ground track changed a number of times during the flight. The aircraft heading changed as much as 90 degrees while altitude changes were occurring. The last FAA air traffic control radar contact with the airplane showed the altitude to be 4,500 feet MSL and the heading to be opposite of its original heading. Ground witnesses reported hearing the airplane's engine accelerating and decelerating followed by a "... ka-boom..." sound. One said he saw the airplane coming out of the clouds nose first and pointing at the ground. Another said he saw the airplane come out of the clouds tumbling without its empennage. The on-scene examination revealed no pre-existing anomalies with the airframe. Before flying the accident airplane as pilot-in-command, the pilot received 11.6 hours of flight training in the aircraft. His total time in the airplane was 23.2 hours according to his logbook. The pilot's logbook showed he had 18.5 hours of actual instrument flight time and 41.4 hours of simulated instrument time. His logbook showed he had flown .6 hours of simulated instruments in the accident airplane before the accident flight.

History of flight

On May 15, 1998, at 0910 central daylight time (cdt), a Commander 114-B, N6059C, operated by an instrument rated private pilot, was destroyed during an in-flight break-up and collision with the ground. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating on an instrument flight plan. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight departed Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 0850 cdt.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records showed N6059C's pilot filed two IFR flight plans at 2120 cdt on May 14, 1998, with the FAA's Greenbay, Wisconsin, Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS). The first IFR flight plan was from Madison, Wisconsin, to Waukesha, Wisconsin. The second IFR flight plan was from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Columbus, Ohio.

While filing the first flight plan the pilot said N6059C's airspeed was planned at 154 knots at 5,000 feet above mean sea level (msl). The pilot said, "...we're going to get there in a hurry." The AFSS specialist said, "...that's red line on any airplane." N6059C's pilot replied, "ya that's true... ."

While speaking with the AFSS specialist the pilot asked for the next day's winds aloft forecast. The AFSS specialist replied, "...starting out... it's not as bad... as I thought it'd be, it's two one zero in the... eighteen knot range at seven thousand feet... ." The AFSS specialist advised the pilot that he would be "...flying basically into a high pressure ridge aloft... ." He told the pilot there would be "...significant thunderstorm activity..." in Wisconsin after 1200 cdt. There is no record of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing before his flight from Madison, Wisconsin, to Waukesha, Wisconsin, or before the accident flight.

At 0859:27 cdt, the pilot of N6059C contacted FAA Approach Control at the Greater Rockford Airport, Rockford, Illinois. The pilot said, "Rockford approach, Commander six zero five nine charlie six thousand three hundred up to seven." The approach controller acknowledged the radio call and issued the pilot an altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury. The pilot acknowledged the altimeter setting at 0859:40 cdt. That was the last radio transmission from N6059C. The approach controller called N6059C two additional times without a response from the airplane's pilot. At 0910:46 cdt the controller said he did not see N6059C on his radar screen.

The FAA's Chicago, Illinois, TRACON radar track data showed N6059C's altitude was 6,200 feet above mean sea level (msl) at 0859:25. The radar data showed N6059C had continued to climb and leveled off at 6,900 feet msl at 0901:03 cdt. The airplane maintained that altitude until 0903:26 cdt. Four seconds later the radar data showed N6059C's altitude was 6,800 feet msl. N6059C's altitude varied between 6,800 and 7,000 feet msl until 0906:26 cdt. Thirteen seconds later its altitude was 6,600 feet msl. The airplane maintained this altitude for eleven seconds. At 0907:08 cdt the radar data showed N6059C's altitude was 4,500 feet msl. The 4,500 feet msl altitude report was the last radar identification of N6059C.

The radar data showed N6059C's ground track heading (heading) was 223 degrees magnetic at 0859:25 cdt. At 0901:03 cdt the radar data showed its heading was 209 degrees magnetic. According to the radar data, N6059C's heading changed eleven times while it was flying at 6,900 feet msl. The headings changed from 209 to 193 degrees magnetic and then to a maximum of 274 degrees magnetic at 0906:26 cdt. N6059C's heading and altitude's had continued to change until its last radar identification at 0907:08 cdt. At that time the reported heading was 045 degrees magnetic. According to the TRACON radar data, the airplane's ground speed varied between 274 and 182 knots during the 0859:25 and 0906:26 cdt period. Excerpts of the FAA's Rockford Air Traffic Control Tower Aircraft Accident Package and the Chicago, Illinois, TRACON radar data are appended to this report.

Witnesses reported hearing between one and three loud bangs coming from the clouds above them after they heard an airplane engine increasing its RPM. The Walworth County Sheriff's Department, Walworth County, Wisconsin, report showed one witness said he "...heard the roaring of an airplane engine, and then he heard, what sounded like a 'ka-boom'... ." The report showed that another witness said "...he [heard] loud revs of an engine up and down, similar to a stunt plane. The witness said that he looked southwest and saw a plane come out of the fog nose first. He said that it was nose first toward the ground, with the wings rotating slowly. He heard three loud bangs before the plane came out of the clouds... ." The report presented another witness who said, "...at approximately 9:05 A.M., he heard an engine rev very, very fast, as if it were racing. He observed pieces of an airplane falling from the sky from very high up. He heard and saw this before he saw the plane crash."

The Walworth County Sheriff's report said that one witness "...heard the noise of an engine revving. He stated he saw one plane, and no debris, coming from the sky, going straight down in the area of the crash site. He said that the airplane had wings when it was going down, and again emphasized that it was going straight down, however he did say that it was tumbling nose over tail, stopped its rotation and then fell straight down from the sky... ." The report showed that another witness, located about 3/4 mile west-northwest of the accident site said "...the plane suddenly did a forward barrel roll, the right wing ripped off the plane and then she observed it crash."

Personnel information

The pilot obtained his airplane, single-engine land, private pilot certificate on April 14, 1997. According to the FAA's Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application, he had received 142.9 hours of dual flight instruction and had 28.8 hours of solo flight time before obtaining his pilot's certificate. The pilot's logbook confirms these hours. According to his logbook, the pilot had 5.1 hours and 2.7 hours of actual instrument and simulated instrument time respectively as of April 14, 1997.

According to FAA records, the pilot obtained his airplane instrument rating on November 5, 1997, after receiving 77.2 hours of dual. His logbook showed he had 34.9 hours of simulated instrument and 9.6 hours of actual instrument flight time respectively as of November 5, 1997. Between August 12, 1997, and August 22, 1997, the pilot obtained 18.1 hours of synthetic trainer experience, according to his logbook.

The pilot's logbook showed he had 340.6 hours total time and 196.7 hours pilot-in-command flight time as of May 9, 1998. The logbook showed he had received 241.5 hours of dual flight instruction as of this date. Of the total time shown for this date, 18.5 and 41.4 hours were shown as actual instrument and simulated flight time respectively. His total time in the Commander 114-B was 23.2 hours. Of this time 11.9 hours were shown as pilot-in-command.

The logbook showed the pilot had .3 hour instrument time in N6059C between the time he received his pilot-in-command endorsement and the accident flight. Before receiving flight training in N6059C the most recent instrument flight time was logged on February 16, 1998. On that date the logbook showed he had 3.0 hours simulated instrument flight time and .5 hour of actual instrument flight time.

The instructor who transitioned the pilot to the airplane had used an FAA Form entitled, "Sample Training Plan for Transition to High Performance Airplanes." This form is part of an FAA Advisory Circular AC 61.98A entitled, "Currency and Additional Qualifications Requirements for Certificated Pilots." The form showed the instructor had given the pilot 10.5 hours of ground instructio