IAD99FA038

The pilot was briefed on two occasions by a flight service briefer and was advised of a SIGMET for moderate to severe turbulence for the departure airport area and along the airplane's proposed route of flight. The pilot acknowledged receipt of a Hazardous In-flight Alert System (HIWAS) alert for moderate to occasional severe turbulence just prior to takeoff. After departure, the tower controller stopped the airplane's climb at 6,000 feet for traffic, then told the pilot to continue the climb to 8,000 feet. The controller had received Pilot Reports (PIREPs) about turbulence and asked the pilot what he was experiencing. The controller did not receive a response, and the airplane disappeared from the radarscope after reaching an altitude of 6,700 feet. Post accident interviews with other pilots revealed they experienced severe turbulence during the same time frame in the vicinity of the accident. Computer analysis of weather data indicated a 100% probability of severe turbulence at 6,000 feet, and at 7,000 feet, vertical motions of 3,153 feet per minute indicated a severe mountain wave. A PIREP placed the base of the cloud layer at 5,400 feet and the tops at 9,500 feet. The airplane's published maximum gross weight was 4,200 pounds, with a center-of-gravity (CG) range of 80.5 inches to 86 inches aft of datum. The airplane's calculated weight at the time of the accident was 4,566 pounds, with the center of gravity calculated at 90.68 inches aft of datum.

History of flight

On April 12, 1999, at 1412 eastern daylight time, a Beech BE-95A, N3113K, was destroyed during a collision with terrain in Shawsville, Virginia. The certificated private pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated from Roanoke Regional/Woodrum Field (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, at 1357. An instrument flight rules flight (IFR) plan was filed for the flight destined for Claxton, Georgia (CWV), and conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

Air Traffic Control transcripts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the pilot was given an IFR clearance and instructed to climb to 8,000 feet after departure. Prior to receiving the clearance, the pilot advised the tower that he had "Information Romeo" from the Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS). Information Romeo contained a Hazardous In-flight Weather Alert System (HIWAS) alert for, "...moderate to occasional severe turbulence below 12,000 feet due to northwesterly winds over rough terrain..." for the Roanoke area and along the airplane's proposed route of flight.

According to the tower supervisor, the tower controller stopped the airplane's climb at 6,000 feet for traffic. After a brief period, the pilot was told to continue the climb to 8,000 feet. The controller then radioed N3113K and requested a Pilot Report (PIREP). The controller had received other PIREPs about turbulence and was curious what the pilot was experiencing. The controller did not receive a response, and the airplane disappeared from the controller's radarscope. The controller said the airplane had reached an altitude of 6,700 feet before he lost track of the target.

According to the tower supervisor, a review of the voice and radar tapes revealed no distress calls or any emergency transponder codes from N3113K. He said, "We had only routine communications with the airplane."

One witness said, "When I looked up, it was going '...blup, blup, blup, blup...' and the wings were rocking side to side. Then the wing dropped off to the right and it went all the way around. It did a complete donut and then it went straight down." When asked about the weather at the time of the accident, she responded, "It was cloudy and windy. Real windy. Real, real, windy. And chippy...it was cold."

A second witness stated, "It's not uncommon for planes to travel this way. I heard this steady drone and then it just quit...just positively stopped. When I looked up, the airplane just spun." With a model of an airplane in his hand, the witness demonstrated a nose-down, spinning motion.

According to a Warden of the Virginia Game Department, "The winds were really strong up in here yesterday. There were trees blown down all over the county."

A Sergeant with the Virginia State Police stated that he was in the vicinity of ROA at 9,000 feet in a Cessna 182 at the time of the accident. He said he was unable to control his altitude or airspeed. The Sergeant said that in an effort to maintain his assigned altitude, he slowed the airplane to 52 knots with full power applied. He said the airplane continued to descend approximately 700 feet per minute. Almost immediately thereafter, the airplane began a climb and an acceleration that he could not control. He said, "With the power all the way out and the nose pushed over, I couldn't stop the climb. Next thing I know, the airspeed indicator is in the yellow arc and my GPS is showing 190 knots over the ground. In my 25 years of flying, I never experienced anything like it."

The Sergeant further stated that he heard other pilots describe "severe" turbulence over the Roanoke radio frequency, and that throughout his encounter, the outside air temperature dropped from approximately 40 degrees to below freezing.

The pilot of a Beech King Air 200 stated he flew in and out of the Virginia Tech Airport (BCB), 7 miles northwest of the accident site, at the time of the accident. He said he landed at BCB at 1330, and departed at 1405. He stated:

"We experienced moderate turbulence in the clouds all the way to the surface. We did not use any [anti-ice/de-ice] equipment. We did not use the boots. There was a Cherokee pilot on 126.9. He wanted to come back to ROA for severe turbulence. He said, 'This was definitely extreme turbulence.' He was pretty shook up, you could tell by his voice. The tension level was really high.

"It was a terrible day. That was a day that I would rather not have flown in. I strap in really tight and we were coming up out of our seats on arrival and departure. We had 'Pitch Hold' engaged on our autopilot and we experienced plus or minus 15 knots on the airspeed."

The King Air pilot said the base of the cloud layer was at 5,400 feet and the tops were at 9,500 feet.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight approximately 42 degrees, 28 minutes north latitude, and 76 degrees, 8 minutes west longitude.

Personnel information

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land, multi-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA third class medical certificate was issued November 24,1997.

A review of the pilot's logbook revealed the pilot recorded 879.2 hours of flight experience, 190 hours of which were in the BE-95A. Between September 1989, and August 1991, the pilot logged 153 hours of multi-engine time, all in the BE-95A. From August 1991 to November 1998, the pilot logged one flight in a multi-engine airplane; a familiarization ride in a Cessna 401, on February 18, 1996.

An examination of the pilot's logbook revealed numerous discrepancies and bookkeeping errors. A detailed review of the pilot's logs failed to rectify the discrepancies and addition errors. As a result, the following times were approximated. The review revealed the pilot had accumulated approximately 811 hours of total flight experience, 130 hours of which was in multi engine airplanes. Further review revealed the pilot had approximately 122 hours of experience in the BE-95A.

The pilot recorded 36.5 hours of multi-engine experience since November 6, 1998, all of which was in the BE-95A. During that period, the pilot received 3.5 hours of dual instruction in preparation for a multi-engine instrument examination flight.

The pilot's certified "Blue Ribbon" airman file was forwarded from the FAA to the Safety Board. A review of the file revealed the pilot had been a certificated pilot since 1983. He failed his instrument rating flight test on the first attempt (flight portion) and his multi-engine test on the first attempt (oral portion). When he passed his multi-engine flight test, the pilot was not tested to obtain instrument privileges and waited 10 years before he got the 'multiengine limited to VFR only' limitation removed.

The pilot obtained a multi-engine instrument rating on February 19, 1999.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a 1963 Beech BE-95 that had accrued 3,595 hours of total time. The airplane was on an annual inspection program, and the most recent annual inspection was completed on October 5, 1998. From that date, the airplane accrued 36.5 hours of flight time prior to the accident.

Meteorological information

A Safety Board meteorologist completed a weather study and a Meteorological Factual Report. According to the weather briefing section of the report:

"...the pilot of N3113K called the Leesburg, Virginia Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) for weather information. After being advised by the AFSS Briefer of 'windy conditions', the pilot was provided the Roanoke terminal forecast...after reading the forecasts the briefer questioned the pilot if he had copied the information. The pilot never responded, the line was disconnected.

"The pilot of N3113K called the Leesburg, Virginia AFSS a second time... and reque