Cessna 208B Caravan, Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 5, 2007–The NTSB blamed the crash of the cargo Caravan on “the pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control...due to spatial disorientation.” Factors were the low ceiling and night conditions. The Caravan was topped off and de-iced after landing at Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK). Forty-five seconds after taking off from LCK for the fourth leg of a five-leg flight, the Castle Aviation Caravan reached only 400 feet agl before descending at 4,600 fpm and hitting the ground. Both pilots were killed and the aircraft destroyed. Light snow and a broken ceiling of 500 feet agl were reported, but a pilot who had just taken off reported entering clouds at 200 feet.
The 58-year-old commercial pilot had 1,310 hours, with about 200 in the 208B, and about 778 hours in actual instrument conditions. He had private, instrument, commercial and multi-engine ratings. Atenolol, a beta blocker prescribed for high blood pressure, chest pain, heart attack, migraine headaches or tremors, was found in the pilot’s body, along with naproxen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.