Pilot's Failure To Maintain Aircraft Control During Climb Caused In-Flight Break-Up

The final NTSB report released April 25 on the downing of a Cessna 150G September 4, 2006 was attributed to the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during flight, resulting in exceeding the design stress limits of the airplane and an in-flight breakup.

Additional factors associated with the accident were the pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his spatial disorientation.

Weather conditions included low clouds and visibility in light to heavy rain. AIRMETs for IFR conditions and mountain obscuration were issued about 1½ hours before the Cessna took off; the pilot, Ira R. Nash, did not contact any flight service stations or utilize DUATS to obtain a weather briefing or file a flight plan.

A relative, however, reported that the pilot had checked the weather and found that it "looked ok above 2,500 (feet)."

Nash and his wife Erika were killed in the crash near Penhook, VA which occurred shortly after his Cessna 150G left Smith Mountain Lake Airport in Moneta, VA and suffered an in-flight breakup during a VFR cross-country flight to Florence Regional Airport, Florence, SC.

Nash was rated for single-engine land craft, issued less than three months before the crash. He did not hold an instrument rating.

According to ATC communication and radar, the pilot contacted Roanoke approach, requesting VFR following services.

Seven minutes later, the pilot asked the controller, "Do you know what that ceiling is for these clouds we have up here?" The controller responded that the only report he had regarding cloud tops was several hours old and that another aircraft reported being "between layers" from 9,000 to 10,000 feet.

Four minutes later, contacting the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center, Nash requested a radar vector, saying, "We're kind lost in some fog here."

When asked to state his heading, Nash replied, "I can't tell, I think we're upside-down."

The controller instructed the pilot to turn right and 18 seconds later advised the pilot to stop the turn. During this time, the airplane had completed a left turn, with an altitude varying between 4,500 and 4,700 feet.

About ten seconds later, the pilot stated, "We can't see, we can't see, we can't see," followed shortly by an intelligible statement. No further transmissions were received from the pilot and radar contact was lost.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud sound and then saw the wings of the airplane descend to the ground detached from the fuselage.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov