SEA95FA101

The pilot contacted Cheyenne approach control at dusk and reported he was 24 miles north of the airport for landing. He was advised '...there is a thunderstorm in the vicinity of the airport north through northeast moving north occasional lightning cloud to ground and a previous aircraft reported severe turbulence.' The pilot acknowledged, then there was no further communication with the aircraft. It was subsequently reported as missing. Personnel responding to an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal reported an extremely low ceiling. The aircraft wreckage was found the next morning about 15 miles north of Cheyenne Airport. Investigation revealed the airplane had impacted gently rising terrain. Wreckage was oriented in a 610' long pattern on a southeasterly heading. Slash marks from both propellers were found, beginning at the initial ground impact point. No preimpact malfunction of the airplane was found. Samples taken from the pilot's remains tested positive for three over-the-counter medications, one of which is not approved for use while flying an airplane; however, the concentrations were so low that they were not quantified.

History of flight

On May 16, 1995, approximately 2032 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Piper PA-34-200T, N2883D, operated by Sky Harbor Air Service, Inc., a 14 CFR 135 on-demand air taxi certificate holder, collided with terrain approximately 15 miles north of Cheyenne, WY. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The aircraft was en route from Natrona County International Airport, Casper, WY, to Cheyenne. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the accident area. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 flight.

The aircraft trip log indicates the airplane departed Cheyenne at 1600 MDT on the day of the accident with one passenger on a 14 CFR 135 on-demand air taxi flight to North Big Horn County Airport, Cowley, WY. After dropping off his passenger, the pilot departed Cowley alone on a 14 CFR 91 return trip to his base at Cheyenne, stopping at Casper for fuel. The pilot called for a weather update from the Casper automated flight service station (AFSS) before departing Casper. The Casper AFSS preflight briefer who briefed the pilot made the following statement concerning the briefing:

At 0135 UTC, a man who identified himself as the pilot of N2883D called on the local telephone line. He stated he was on the ground at Casper, going to Cheyenne, and asked for Cheyenne's last hour weather. I gave him the Cheyenne 0103 special, not including wind and altimeter, as he interrupted me. I asked him if he had the advisories for turbulence, he said yes, and I ended the briefing by asking for pilot reports.

The pilot did not file a FAA flight plan for the Casper to Cheyenne flight, but Sky Harbor's director of operations stated that company flight-following and dispatch procedures were utilized throughout the trip and that the company was aware of the intended return flight. According to air traffic information furnished by the FAA, the flight was cleared for takeoff from Casper at 1941 MDT.

A recording of the Cheyenne approach control frequency shows that at 2022 MDT, the pilot made the first of three unsuccessful attempts to contact Cheyenne approach control. In each of these three attempts, Cheyenne approach control answered the pilot's radio call but the pilot did not respond. Contact with Cheyenne approach control was established on the pilot's fourth attempt at 2027 MDT. The pilot reported that he was 24 miles north of the airport and would be landing. Approach control answered: "Seneca 83 Delta roger, I did hear all your previous transmissions, apparently you weren't hearing mine, contact Cheyenne tower on one one eight point seven five miles north of the airport, there is a thunderstorm in the vicinity of the airport, north through northeast moving north, occasional lightning cloud to ground and a previous aircraft reported severe turbulence." The pilot's reply to this call was: "I flew down from Casper it was a pretty smooth ride." This was the last radio transmission received from N2883D, occurring at approximately 2027:31 MDT. The tape recorded the controller stating in reply: "Maybe it's moved on, thanks."

No further communication attempts between Cheyenne approach control and N2883D were recorded on the tape until 2050 MDT. Between that time and 2055 MDT, Cheyenne approach control made three unsuccessful attempts to contact N2883D. An emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was subsequently detected and triangulated to an apparent location 23 miles north of Cheyenne. This was reported to the Laramie County Sheriff via the Wyoming Department of Transportation at 2323 MDT. A deputy was then dispatched to this area to investigate the report. In his report on the incident, the deputy noted that when he arrived in the search area, he was met by personnel he identified as "U.S. Air Force security police", who "...advised me they attempted to get a Search and Rescue helicopter from F.E. Warren Air Force Base to fly the area but the ceiling was about 100 feet above the ground." His report states that dispatch was advised at 0634 MDT the following morning that the wreckage had been located.

The accident occurred during the hours of dusk (approximately 20 minutes after local sunset) at 41 degrees 24.49 minutes North and 104 degrees 48.47 minutes West.

Personnel information

The pilot was employed by Sky Harbor Air Service primarily as their aircraft sales manager. He flew trips for the company on an as-needed basis. He was a commercial pilot with airplane single- and multi-engine land ratings. He was instrument-rated but was not qualified to fly under instrument flight rules under Sky Harbor's air carrier operating certificate. In a post- accident interview, Sky Harbor's director of operations stated that the pilot had requested a company instrument flight rules checkout the week prior to the accident, but that he had denied the request due to concerns about the pilot's ability to deal with emergency conditions while flying on instruments, based on observations of the pilot's performance while flying under simulated instrument conditions.

Sky Harbor's flight and training records on the pilot date back to May 1990. They indicate the pilot was qualified on the Piper PA-28R, Cessna 414, Piper PA-34, Cessna 340, and Cessna 172RG aircraft. The pilot successfully completed a 14 CFR 135 proficiency check in the PA-34 on March 7, 1995. According to the record of the check, instrument flying was not evaluated on this check. The operator indicated that the pilot had over 6,700 hours total time.

Company flight and duty time records indicate this was his first trip since April 12, 1995, and that he flew 28 hours and ten trips with Sky Harbor (all multi-engine, mostly in the PA-34), including the accident trip, in the 90 days before the accident. Additionally, the operator stated that the pilot had flown two flights before his charter trip on the day of the accident: a 1.3 hour flight as a safety pilot, and a 0.7 hour test flight of a Cessna T210 (which had just received an annual inspection) with the director of operations. The operator stated that the pilot had no flights the day before the accident.

To the best of the operator's knowledge, the pilot had departed work at about 1600 the day before the accident and arrived for work at about 0830 on the day of the accident. The operator stated that to his knowledge, the pilot "had no pressing concerns in Cheyenne that evening nor did he have any illnesses to speak of."

Aircraft information

The aircraft, a Piper model PA-34-200T, was manufactured in 1979 and was owned and operated by Sky Harbor Air Service of Cheyenne. It was equipped for flight under instrument flight rules (IFR). The aircraft logbook indicated that the last inspection of the airplane was on April 6, 1995 at 7,098.2 aircraft hours. This inspection was signed off by the inspection authorization (IA) mechanic as a 100-hour inspection. Left and right engine logbook inspection entries on the same date were signed off as annual inspections. The previous inspection in the aircraft log, also signed off as a 100-hour inspection, was on December 13, 1994, at 7,025.2 aircraft hours. The most recent inspection annotated in the aircraft logbook as an annual inspection was on March 29, 1994 at 6,532.3 aircraft hours. The company's aircraft inspection/overhaul report (SHAS Form A) indicated that the airplane's next annual inspection was due in April 1996. The operator indicated in his report on the accident that the last inspection of the airplane had been a combined annual/100-hour inspection on April 6, 1995.

The aircraft discrepancy log contained no unresolved discrepancies from October 1994 to the accident date.

Meteorological information

The 0103 UTC (1903 MDT) C