SEA01FA167

The aircraft made a visual flight rules (VFR) departure from the airport underneath a solid overcast, and headed in a direction that took it toward rising mountainous/hilly terrain. In the area where the pilot approached the mountainous terrain, the clouds were touching the top of the ridges in all quadrants, but the visibility underneath the overcast was extensive. As the pilot attempted to maneuver the aircraft below the overcast in the restrictive environment of the mountain valleys, he inadvertently entered the cloud base, and soon thereafter collided with the terrain.

History of flight

On September 5, 2001, approximately 0715 Pacific daylight time, a Beechcraft Baron 58, N18414, impacted mountainous terrain about 10 miles southeast of Ashland, Oregon. The pilot and his two passengers received fatal injuries, and the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal transportation flight, which departed Ashland Airport about five minutes prior to the accident, was operating in an area where instrument meteorological conditions existed. According to family members, the flight was en route to Scottsdale, Arizona. Although the pilot received a weather briefing for the planned route of flight, no flight plan had been filed.

On the day prior to the accident, the aircraft arrived at Ashland Municipal Airport around 1700. The pilot had a local fixed-base operator (FBO) add one quart of 15-50 aviation oil to one of the engines and 100 gallons of 100LL (low-lead) aviation fuel to the aircraft's fuel system. These items were paid for at 1740. Individuals who were at the airport while the aircraft was being serviced reported that the pilot commented that he was having the aircraft fueled at that time because he planned on departing in the morning before the gas pumps were open.

According to pilot-rated witnesses who were at the Ashland Airport on the morning of the accident, the pilot and his two passengers arrived at the airport a little before 0700. They then quickly loaded the aircraft, started the engines, and taxied to the southeast end of the runway. Although some of the witnesses commented that it seemed like the party were in a bit of a hurry to depart, they noticed nothing else abnormal about the loading and taxiing of the aircraft. According to two pilots who were waiting for the weather to improve before they departed Ashland Airport, when the subject aircraft reached the end of the taxiway, it did not stop prior to turning onto the runway, but instead immediately started the takeoff roll. These individuals said they did not hear or observe any actions that appeared to them to be a pre-takeoff engine run-up or propeller pitch control check. The aircraft pulled onto the runway shortly after 0700, departed to the northwest, and made a left downwind departure in the general direction of Pilot Rock. According to all the pilot rated witnesses interviewed at the airport, the aircraft's engines sounded normal and strong, and except for not being able to detect a pre-takeoff run-up, there was nothing unusual about the aircraft's takeoff or departure. One non-pilot witness, who was north of the airport, said that it sounded to him like the left engine might not have been running right. The pilot-rated witnesses said that they could hear the pilot synchronize the propeller rpm's just after he turned onto the downwind, and that the rest of his departure was unremarkable.

A short time after 0700, an individual who was bow hunting in dense fog near Pilot Rock heard the aircraft coming in his direction. According to this individual, although he could not see it, he heard the aircraft from a long way off, and he could clearly hear it getting closer. He reported that the engines sounded smooth and strong, and that except for the fact that it sounded like it was getting very close to him, there was nothing that made him think it was experiencing trouble. Just as the aircraft appeared to be going past him to the other side of the mountain, he heard a muffled thud, which he later realized was the aircraft impacting the terrain. About four hours after the impact, the wreckage was inadvertently discovered by an another individual who was checking roads and gates in the area. A damaged wrist watch that was found in the wreckage had stopped running, and was indicating 0709.

Personnel information

The pilot-in-command, and owner of the aircraft, held a private pilot certificate with single-engine, multi-engine and instrument ratings. Although the pilot indicated on his aircraft insurance application that he had completed an FAA physical on February 12, 2001, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Medical Records Branch, the pilot's latest submitted medical was on January 6, 1999. A discussion with the FAA-approved medical examiner who performed the aforementioned medical revealed that he had no record of any updated medical since that time. At the time of the medical in 1999, the pilot reported 10,000 hours total flying time.

One of the passengers, the pilot's son, was issued a student pilot's certificate on April 4, 1997, but that certificate was no longer current.

Meteorological information

At 0756, approximately 15 minutes prior to the accident, the surface aviation weather observation (METAR) at Rogue Valley International Airport, which is located about 25 miles northwest of the accident site, reported 3,500 overcast, 10 miles visibility, winds 300 degrees at 8 knots, a temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dew point of 42 degrees.

According to the other pilots who were waiting for the weather to improve around the Ashland airport prior to making their departures, in many places to the south, north, and east of the airport, the clouds were touching the tops of the hills. To the northwest, toward Medford, the clouds had started to lift, and the witnesses could see some areas where the sun was streaming through. They said that although there were some areas near the airport where the clouds were not touching the tops of the hills, in the direction the subject aircraft departed, the clouds appeared thicker, and there were no areas where they could see room between the clouds and the top of the hills. It was the opinion of these pilots that if the pilot of the Baron had flown about five miles northwest, he could have found an opening where he would have been able to climb above the cloud layer. They further stated that to them it appeared that to the southeast, there was no place where a pilot could climb up out of the valley and get over the clouds while maintaining flight in visual meteorological conditions (VMC).

According to the bow hunter who was near Pilot Rock, the weather was very clear underneath the clouds, and he could see a very long distance. He said that as he was heading to the area he planned on hunting, he first ran into the fog/low clouds as he turned off the paved freeway frontage road onto the unpaved Pilot Rock Road (about 400 feet lower than the impact site). He said that although it was very clear underneath, the clouds themselves were very dense, and that he figured he could see 50 feet at the most. He said that he did not come across any areas where there was an opening between the top of the hills and the bottom of the clouds. He also reported that there was a steady wind blowing the clouds up against the northwest side of the hills, and in some places they were spilling over and down the southeast side.

Another individual, who lived in a house located about eight miles northwest of the accident site, reported they went outside specifically to check the weather, sometime between 0730 and 0800. This person, who's home is located at an altitude of 4,600 above sea level (MSL), said that there was a solid overcast above their home, which he estimated to be between 100 and 300 feet off the ground. He further said that the clouds were thick and very solid, and did not start breaking up until after 0900. He also said that in the area that he could see, the clouds were right down on the ridges, and that there was a steady wind of about 10 knots out of the north.

When the individual who inadvertently discovered the wreckage arrived in the area around 1045, the overcast had broken up in much of the area, but the tops of most of the hills were still covered in clouds. He said that the wind was blowing about 30 miles per hour, and the clouds on the hills did not dissipate until around 1200.

Wreckage and impact info