- Location: Greenville, North Carolina
- Accident Number: ERA25FA143
- Date & Time: March 14, 2025, 07:49 Local
- Registration: N566C
- Aircraft: RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY A36
- Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
- Defining Event: Loss of control in flight
- Injuries: 2 Fatal
- Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
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On March 14, 2025, at 0749 eastern daylight time, a Raytheon Aircraft Company A36, N566C, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Greenville, North Carolina. The private pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The instrument-rated private pilot and passenger were departing on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight. The weather conditions that preceded and persisted until the time of the takeoff consisted of low ceilings (300 ft), mist, and fog with instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) through most of the area. After departure, the pilot flew the runway heading and climbed briefly before turning right and descending to about 200 ft. The right turn then stopped and the airplane flew a relatively straight ground track and resumed the climb. While flying at an altitude of about 600 ft, with the airplane climbing at a vertical speed of about 1,800 feet per minute, the airplane continued for about a mile before entering another turn to the right. The airplane stopped climbing during this turn after it reached a peak altitude of 1,000 ft. Shortly after, the right turn progressively tightened as the airplane began a descending spiral. A witness observed the airplane rolling as it descended out of the clouds before impacting terrain.
The airplane impacted the terrain at high-speed in a nearly 50° nose down, and steep right wing low attitude. Postaccident examination of the wreckage was limited by the level of impactrelated damage and significant fragmentation. Within the wreckage that was examined, there was no indication of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation of the airframe or engine. Additionally, witness statements and impact signatures observed on the airplane’s propeller blades were consistent with the engine producing power at impact.
The instrument-rated pilot had completed an instrument proficiency check about 2 months before the accident. Since then, he had accumulated additional experience that included flight in simulated and actual instrument meteorological conditions, and had conducted several instrument approaches, all in the accident airplane. While his flight logs suggested that he had some familiarity operating the airplane and its newly installed electronic flight instrumentation under instrument flight rules, the pilot’s overall level of proficiency could not be determined from available information. The airplane’s erratic flight track on the accident flight, which included arrested climbs, descents, and low altitude turns that culminated in a tightening turn and high-speed descent was indicative of the known effects of spatial disorientation, specifically the somatogyral illusion (graveyard spiral). During the initial climb, once the pilot entered the clouds and lost all outside visual cues, it would have been difficult to recognize and respond to spatial disorientation unless he was confident and assertive in his use of the airplane’s avionics package and flight instrumentation.
The aortic plaque observed a postaccident autopsy of the pilot indicated some increased risk of an impairing or incapacitating cardiovascular event, although the magnitude of this risk was uncertain from the limited autopsy evidence. The limited qualitative toxicology results in tissue indicated that the pilot had used the sedating antihistamine medication diphenhydramine, but did not indicate the precise timing of his last use or whether he was experiencing associated impairing effects at the time of the accident. While the pilot had defective color vision, he had been approved for flight and there was no evidence to suggest that color vision played a role in the accident.
- Probable Cause: The pilot’s loss of airplane control shortly after climbing into instrument meteorological conditions due to spatial disorientation (somatogyral illusion).
Pilot Information
According to FAA airman records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. According to the pilot’s logbook, as of March 7, 2025, the pilot had accumulated 2,034 total hours of flight experience, of which 159.5 hours was in the accident airplane make and model. Between the pilot’s logbook entries on July 6 and August 11, 2024, “New Avionics” was annotated in the margin of one of the pages. Between August 11, 2024, and the last entry on March 7, 2025, the pilot logged 48.2 total hours of flight experience, of which 8.4 hours were operated in simulated IMC, and 1.8 hours of which were operated in actual IMC. Between the time of the pilot’s most recent instrument proficiency check on January 12, 2025, and the accident, he logged 1.9 hours in simulated IMC, 1.8 hours in actual IMC, and 4 instrument approaches, all of which were in the accident airplane.
At the time of the accident, the pilot had applied for BasicMed. His BasicMed course date was September 2, 2024, and his Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist (CMEC) date was August 19, 2024.
A review of the airplane’s maintenance records showed that on March 4, 2025, at 1,175.8 total hours of operation, the engine was serviced with 10 quarts of oil and a subsequent engine run was successfully completed. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on July 3, 2024. At the time of the inspection, the airframe and engine had accrued about 1,085 total hours of operation; the spark plugs were cleaned and gapped, the magnetos were inspected, and an engine compression check was performed yielding normal results. The airframe flight control cables were inspected and all fluids were serviced. The Airworthiness Directives were checked and the propeller was inspected. No mechanical irregularities were noted, and the airplane was returned to service in an airworthy condition.
A review of FAA airworthiness records revealed that on August 7, 2024, about 7 months before the accident flight, a new autopilot and avionics package was installed on the airplane. This included but was not limited to the Garmin G3X system and a Garmin GFC 500 Autopilot.
The pilot’s previous airplane, a Mooney M20, had a Garmin 530W installed.
An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the East Carolina University Division of Forensic Pathology, Grenville, North Carolina. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma, and the manner of death was accident.
The pilot’s last aviation medical examination was November 18, 2023. At that time, he reported no active medical conditions and no medication use. He was noted to have a 2009 Statement of Demonstrated Ability for defective color vision. He was issued a third-class medical certificate limited by a requirement to use corrective lenses to meet vision standards at all required distances. Due to the extent of the pilot’s injuries, his autopsy was markedly limited for evaluation of natural disease. Structural evaluation of the brain, heart, and lungs was not possible. Aortic plaque was present.
Postmortem toxicological testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma detected diphenhydramine in brain tissue and kidney tissue. Propranolol was detected in brain tissue and was not detected in kidney tissue. No blood was available for testing.
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