CESSNA 441 CONQUEST II, ARKANSAS CITY, KAN., JAN. 30, 2002–The pilot and his wife died when, according to early reports, he lost control of their Conquest after the autopilot failed in IMC. The pilot radioed ATC and requested a no-gyro vector to visual conditions. Shortly after the request, the turboprop descended rapidly–losing some 27,000 ft in approximately 14 min–until radar coverage and communications were lost. The wreckage was found in an icy field near Winfield, Kan. some 30 to 40 miles southwest of Wichita.
The 60-year-old pilot and his 36-year-old wife were flying to Colorado for a medical conference. Preliminary estimates of his experience, gleaned from his most recent medical, pointed to 1,500 hr total time. They departed Springdale Municipal (ASG) shortly after 1300 and climbed to their cruise altitude of FL 280. Weather reports near the crash site included 4 mi visibility in freezing rain and mist, broken layers of cloud at 1,000 ft and an overcast sky at 1,300 ft, with a surface temperature of 1 deg C.
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