This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2024) |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 29 May 2021 |
Summary | Loss of control during climb |
Site | Percy Priest Lake, Tennessee, United States 36°09′22″N86°36′47″W / 36.156°N 86.613°W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Cessna 501 Citation I/SP |
Operator | JL&GL Productions LP |
Registration | N66BK |
Flight origin | Smyrna Airport, Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States |
Destination | Palm Beach International Airport, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States |
Occupants | 7 |
Passengers | 6 |
Crew | 1 |
Fatalities | 7 |
Survivors | 0 |
On 29 May 2021, a Cessna 501 Citation I/SP crashed into the Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee, United States. All seven occupants died, including Remnant Fellowship Church founder Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband, actor Joe Lara, [1] [2] who was piloting the aircraft. [3]
The aircraft took off from Smyrna Airport in Smyrna, Tennessee, at 10:50 a.m. for a planned Federal Aviation Regulations Part 91 personal flight to Palm Beach International Airport. [1] After takeoff, the aircraft started a right turn and climbed to an altitude of 2,900 ft (880 m) before descending to 1,800 ft (550 m), climbing again to 3,000 ft (910 m), and then descending into the lake. [4]
Weather reports indicated the presence of an overcast cloud layer at 1,300 ft (400 m) in the area at the time. [4]
The aircraft involved, owned by JL&GL Productions LP, was a Cessna 501 Citation, registered as N66BK. It was equipped with two P&WC JT15D-1B engines. When the aircraft was last inspected, it had accumulated 4781.4 hours. The aircraft was manufactured in 1982, and had its maiden flight the same year. [4] [5]
By 1 June 2021, searchers had recovered both aircraft engines, a significant portion of the fuselage, and unidentified human remains. Authorities had named the seven victims, all of whom were leaders at the Remnant Fellowship Church.
On 22 March 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the cause of the accident was "the pilot's loss of airplane control during climb due to spatial disorientation." Flight tracking data revealed that after takeoff, the aircraft entered clouds at 1,300 ft (400m) and made a series of heading changes, along with several climbs and descents, before it entered a steep, descending left turn. Accelerations associated with the airplane’s increasing airspeed were likely perceived by the pilot as the airplane pitching up although it was in a continuous descent. This occurred because Lara was experiencing a type of spatial disorientation, a somatogravic illusion, and he probably did not effectively use his instruments during takeoff and climb. As a result, Lara most likely experienced a high workload managing the flight profile, which would have had a negative effect on his performance. As such, the airplane entered a high acceleration, unusual attitude, descending left turn from which he was not able to recover.
The NTSB investigation reviewed Lara's pilot training in the CE-500-type aircraft and reported that at the end of a 12-day series of training sessions at a flight school in January 2020, "the pilot did not meet the requisite performance level to attempt the CE-500 type rating check ride." Lara returned to his local instructor for more training and subsequently passed his check ride. Nonetheless, a pilot who flew in the accident aircraft with the accident pilot on several occasions judged him to be "weak" when flying in instrument meteorological conditions. [6]
Jessica Whitney Dubroff was a seven-year-old American trainee pilot who died while attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States. On day two of her quest, the Cessna 177B Cardinal single-engine aircraft, piloted by her flight instructor, Joe Reid, crashed during a rainstorm immediately after takeoff from Cheyenne Regional Airport in Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing Dubroff, her 57-year-old father Lloyd Dubroff, and Reid.
Gwendolyn Henley Shamblin Lara was the founder of the Remnant Fellowship Church, founder of the Christian diet program The Weigh Down Workshop, and an American author.
Spatial disorientation is the inability to determine position or relative motion, commonly occurring during periods of challenging visibility, since vision is the dominant sense for orientation. The auditory system, vestibular system, and proprioceptive system collectively work to coordinate movement with balance, and can also create illusory nonvisual sensations, resulting in spatial disorientation in the absence of strong visual cues.
Castle Aviation is a cargo airline and private passenger airline based in North Canton, Ohio, United States. It offers charter cargo and private passenger services, but primarily provides priority freight service for the Canadian parcel post service Purolator. Its only base is the Akron–Canton Airport.
American Eagle Flight 4184, officially operating as Simmons Airlines Flight 4184, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois, United States. On October 31, 1994, the ATR 72 performing this route flew into severe icing conditions, lost control and crashed into a field. All 68 people aboard were killed in the high-speed impact.
Addison Airport is a public airport in Addison, in Dallas County, Texas, United States, 9 mi north of downtown Dallas. It opened in 1954 and was purchased by the town of Addison in 1976.
Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 was a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-22 that collided with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on July 19, 1967, over Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States. Both aircraft were destroyed and all passengers and crew were killed, including John T. McNaughton, an advisor to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The aircraft were both operating under instrument flight rules and were in radio contact with the Asheville control tower, though on different frequencies. The accident investigation was the first of a major scale conducted by the newly created National Transportation Safety Board. A review of the investigation conducted 39 years after the crash upheld the original findings that had placed primary responsibility on the Cessna pilot.
Smyrna Airport is a public general aviation and military use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) north of the central business district of Smyrna, a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. It is owned by the Smyrna / Rutherford County Airport Authority. Smyrna Airport is the third largest airport in Tennessee and is the state's busiest general aviation airport. Prior to March 1971, the facility was an active military installation known as Sewart Air Force Base.
William Joseph Lara was an American actor, martial artist, and musician, known for the role of Tarzan in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.
Mesquite Metro Airport is a public use airport in Dallas County, Texas, 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) east of the central business district of Mesquite. The airport is west of the border of Dallas County and Kaufman County.
The Cessna 500 Citation I is a small business jet produced by Cessna, the basis of the Citation family. The Fanjet 500 prototype was announced in October 1968, first flew on September 15, 1969, and was certified as the 500 Citation on September 9, 1971. It was upgraded in 1976 as the Citation I, and the 501 Citation I/SP single-pilot variant was introduced in 1977. Production ended in 1985 with 689 of all variants produced. The straight wing jet is powered by JT15D turbofans. The aircraft was developed into the Citation II.
Aero Valley Airport is a privately owned, public use airport 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) northwest of Roanoke, in Denton County, Texas, United States.
On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. was killed when the light aircraft he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Kennedy's wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette were also on board and were killed. The Piper Saratoga departed from New Jersey's Essex County Airport; its intended route was along the coastline of Connecticut and across Rhode Island Sound to Martha's Vineyard Airport.
Paul C. Miller–Sparta Airport is a public airport located 3 mi (5 km) southeast of Sparta, Michigan. Established in 1941, the airport is currently owned and operated by the Village of Sparta and is self-supporting, requiring no public funding. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a regional general aviation facility.
Flight Express, Inc. was a cargo airline owned by Bayside Capital. Bayside Capital acquired Flight Express on November 4, 2008. Flight Express, Inc. operates as an air courier company in the Southeast and Midwest United States. It offers air freight and ground courier services. The company also operates aircraft. It specializes in the transport of cargo for banking and financial institutions, life sciences organizations, newspaper publishers, overnight freight delivery companies, and payroll and photographic processors. It operates 84 aircraft from facilities in eight states. It was founded in 1985 and is based in Orlando, Florida, USA.
AVAir Flight 3378, was a scheduled flight under the American Eagle branding from Raleigh–Durham International Airport to Richmond International Airport which crashed after takeoff from Raleigh-Durham International Airport late on the night of February 19, 1988. All 12 people on board were killed in the accident.
On March 5, 1963, American country music performers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed in an airplane crash near Camden, Tennessee, United States, along with pilot Randy Hughes. The accident occurred as the three artists were returning home to Nashville, Tennessee, after performing in Kansas City, Kansas.
Parker County Airport is a privately owned public airport in Hudson Oaks, Parker County, Texas, United States. The airport serves the city of Weatherford, and is located approximately 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) east of the central business district.
Atlas Air Flight 3591 was a scheduled domestic cargo flight under the Amazon Air banner between Miami International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. On February 23, 2019, the Boeing 767-375ER(BCF) used for this flight crashed into Trinity Bay during approach into Houston, killing the two crew members and a single passenger on board. The accident occurred near Anahuac, Texas, east of Houston, shortly before 12:45 CST (18:45 UTC). This was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 767 freighter.