A Tri-Coastal Airlines Swearingen SA-226TC (N629EK) crashed in a “nose-down, near-vertical attitude” near Paris, Tenn., while on a cargo flight from Dayton, Ohio, to Harlingen, Texas, on February 8. The sole-occupant pilot was killed. According to the NTSB, the pilot asked ATC if he could make a 360-degree turn to the left while the turboprop twin was in cruise flight at 16,000 feet. Shortly after this, the pilot requested a 360-degree turn to the right. The pilot then asked for radar vectors to the closest airport. Controllers gave him a vector and asked if he had an emergency. The pilot reported he had an “asymmetric fuel condition” and asked for a lower altitude. Controllers cleared the flight to 4,000 feet. About a minute later the pilot transmitted “Mayday” six times, and shortly after this radar and radio contact with the aircraft was lost.