Pilatus PC-12/45 accident near Raphine, VA

On July 5, 2009, a Pilatus PC-12/45 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Raphine, VA. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

July 5, 2009

Place

Raphine, VA

Aircraft

Pilatus PC-12/45 · Airplane

Injuries

4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

37.924°N, 79.217°W

NTSB ID

20090706X00147

Official records · ERA09FA376

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• ATC 3 - Multi-Site Radar Data for N578DC: Document (CSV), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3 - Blue Streak 503 Radar Data: Document (CSV), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3 - ATC Radar Study: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Avionics Recording - Specialist's Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

**Modifications were made to this report on 10/31/2011. Please see the public docket for this accident to see a list of changes.** HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 5, 2009, about 1002 eastern daylight time, a Pilatus PC12/45, N578DC, registered to Nicholas Elliott & Jordan LLC, impacted in a pasture near Raphine, Virginia, following an in-flight loss of control. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the altitude of the start of the in-flight loss of control and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and activated for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight from Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, New Jersey, to Tampa Executive Airport (VDF), Tampa, Florida. The airplane was destroyed by impact and the certificated private pilot and three passengers were killed. According to a chronological summary of communications, the pilot received his IFR clearance while on the ground at the departure airport. The certified copy of the voice transmission indicated the pilot was informed to expect flight level (FL) 260 ten minutes after departure. A transcription of communications indicated that the flight was cleared for takeoff about 0823, and after takeoff, air traffic control (ATC) communications were transferred to several ATC facilities while the flight proceeded towards the destination airport. At approximately 0906, while in contact with the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (Washington ARTCC), the pilot advised the controller that he was at FL 260. While in communication with the same facility, he later requested clea

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while in instrument meteorological conditions following a reported instrumentation failure for undetermined reasons.

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Browse: Virginia · Pilatus aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.