Mar 6, 2002
Accident
Destroyed San Jose, CA
Injuries3 fatal
Phase of Flight-
ConditionsIMC
OperationFAR 091
Probable Cause
the pilot's loss of control and resulting exceedence of the design stress limits of the aircraft, which led to an in-flight structural failure. The pilot's loss of control was due in part to the loss of primary airspeed reference resulting from pitot tube icing, which was caused by the internal failure of the pitot heat switch. Factors in the accident were the pilot's distraction caused by the airspeed reading anomaly and spatial disorientation.
NTSB LAX02FA101