AOPA’S AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE RELEASES EARLY ANALYSIS: N273SM VIDEO
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute (ASI) released a new video from its Early Analysis series providing an initial examination of a recent accident.
On February 25, 2023, a Pilatus PC-12 experienced an in-flight breakup over Stagecoach, Nevada, about 14 minutes after departure from Reno, Nevada. Sadly, all five people on board the airplane died in the accident.
The air ambulance flight had departed Reno/Tahoe International Airport at around 9 p.m. to transport a patient for medical treatment to Salt Lake City, Utah.
The flight reached an altitude of approximately 19,400 feet when ADS-B radar tracking showed the airplane in a descending right turn at a high rate of descent. According to the NTSB, the airplane broke apart in flight.
“In Early Analysis: N273SM, the AOPA Air Safety Institute wants to help pilots understand what is known about the accident as we look at factors that are likely to be a subject of the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board," said AOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President Richard McSpadden.
McSpadden continued, “A winter storm was passing through the area. Visibility was about a mile-and-three-quarters in light snow, so the pilot departed in demanding conditions: single-pilot, night, IFR, into turbulence and moderate icing.
“The go/no-go decision and whether we would fly in those conditions is something to think hard about. This accident reinforces the importance of a strong decision matrix,” McSpadden concluded.
Early Analysis videos provide an initial assessment of prominent mishaps that generate large public interest and may indicate important safety lessons for the general aviation community.
View the video here.
View other Early Analysis videos here.
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