Accidents
Final Report: Spatial disorientation brought down Caravan
Cessna 208B Caravan, Spanish Fort, Ala., Oct.

Cessna 208B Caravan, Spanish Fort, Ala., Oct. 23, 2002–Despite speculation that a Mid-Atlantic Freight Caravan collided with another object (possibly a UAV), the NTSB determined that the cause of the crash was the 4,000-hour pilot’s spatial disorientation, which resulted in loss of control. Night IMC with variable cloud layers was a contributing factor.

The pilot had been advised of traffic and he reported the traffic was above him. He said he needed to deviate, and the data indicates that his airplane was in or entering an uncontrolled descent from 3,000 feet when he made the request.