Cessna Safety Record

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s continued visual flight into night instrument flight rules conditions, which resulted in a collision with the runway during an attempted approach to land. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s mental state, his impairment due to alcohol, and his decision to operate the airplane from Canada to the United States without the owner’s permission and without proper clearances for the flight.

The airplane's encounter with severe icing conditions, which resulted in structural icing, and the pilot's increased workload and subsequent disorientation while maneuvering in instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions with malfunctioning flight instruments, which led to the subsequent loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to takeoff in IFR conditions and fly a single-pilot operation without a functioning autopilot and with malfunctioning flight instruments.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control due to spatial disorientation in low-visibility conditions while maneuvering during a missed approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s ineffective use of the onboard GPS equipment.

The pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient altitude to clear a radio tower while maneuvering at low altitude and his decision to make a high-speed, low pass over the gun club.

The pilot’s failure to adequately decrease the airplane’s ground speed or maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with an airport sign and structure and a subsequent postcrash fire.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering at a low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and impact with the ground.

The pilot's intentional visual flight into night instrument meteorological conditions and thunderstorms and his improper decision to takeoff without getting updated weather information after a briefer cautioned him during a previous flight that visual flight rules flight was not recommended along his route, which resulted in collision with trees and terrain during a visual approach.

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff during the ground roll after detecting the airplane's degraded performance. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to attempt a flight with a known problem with the left engine and the likely partial loss of left engine power for reasons that could not be determined during the postaccident examination of the engine.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of a low fuel state and a nose-high attitude during a go-around, which unported the fuel tank feed line, and the pilot's decision to make a low-altitude turn back to the airport, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.

The improper routing of the seatbelt, which resulted in the inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute, and the open jump door, which allowed the passenger to be pulled from the airplane.