NTSB Identification:
WPR14FAMS1
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, December 01, 2013 in Yellow Pine, ID
Aircraft: BEECH B36TC, registration: N36ML
Injuries: 5 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On December 1, 2013, at 1303 mountain standard time, a Beech B36TC, N36ML, lost radar and radio communication in the vicinity of Johnson Creek Airport (3U2), Yellow Pine, Idaho. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The instrument rated private pilot and his four passengers are missing and the airplane has not been located. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The cross-country flight originated from Baker City, Oregon, about 1225 with an intended destination of Butte, Montana.
Preliminary information provided from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) revealed that the pilot was issued an IFR clearance to Butte, Montana with a cruise altitude of 13,000 feet mean sea level (msl). As the flight was about 15 miles east of the Donnelly Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR), the controller noticed that the airplane deviated from his course and questioned the pilot. The pilot reported that he was picking up significant icing and requested to descend to 11,000 feet msl. The controller subsequently cleared the pilot to descend to the minimum vectoring altitude (MVA) of 12,000 feet msl.
Shortly after, the pilot requested to divert to Salmon, Idaho, and was subsequently issued clearance to the Lemhi County Airport, Salmon, Idaho. The controller observed the airplane descend below 11,900, which was the minimum safe altitude warning (MSAW) and issued an alert to the pilot. The pilot informed the controller he was having engine problems and was unable to maintain altitude and requested to divert to McCall, Idaho. The controller suggested headings for McCall and provided the location of Johnson Creek Airport. Subsequently, radar and radio contact was lost about 0.5 miles northeast of 3U2 at an altitude of 10,100 feet msl. The FAA issued an alert notice (ALNOT) at 1328.
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