NTSB: Fog disoriented pilot, causing 2021 deadly crash after Richmond takeoff
RICHMOND, Ind. — A Richmond pilot who died when his plane crashed in April 2021 should not have flown in that day's foggy conditions, according to a federal investigation.
Judson J. Costlow, 78, was killed April 25, 2021, by multiple blunt force injuries when his light sport aircraft crashed into a field about a half-mile south of Richmond Municipal Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's recently released final report. After the crash, the yellow and blue plane burned in the winter wheat field.
Costlow, who was the only person aboard, had filed a flight plan to Festus, Missouri, with Arizona, where he would visit family, his final destination. When Costlow took off about 7:40 a.m. in his Aeropro CZ A240, the cloud ceiling was 200 feet above ground with half-mile visibility in the fog. An AIRMET (Airman's Meteorological Information) advisory for instrument flight rules conditions was in effect, the report said.
According to onboard data, the plane took off from a runway that angles from northeast to southwest and began a climbing right turn, the report said, reaching 2,045 feet. It continued the right turn and began to descend, however, crashing into the field southwest of the runway. The NTSB report blames spatial disorientation in the fog for Costlow losing control of his plane.
Costlow had student pilot certification and was not rated for instrument flight in the low-visibility conditions. The NTSB report finds that a pilot without an instrument rating who flew into meteorological conditions that required instrument flight resulted in the spatial disorientation and loss of control. It says the airplane's path after takeoff is consistent with spatial disorientation.
Examination of the two-seat plane's wreckage showed damage consistent with ground impact and fire, but it did not reveal any indication of pre-impact failure or malfunction, the report said.
According to online NTSB records, Costlow is the 12th person killed during a Wayne County aviation incident since 1968, and his crash is the county's 51st aviation incident dating back to the first report in 1964. Some airport incidents are as simple as hard landings or striking objects while taxiing, and other incidents include forced landings or crashes that happened away from airports.
Of the 51 incidents, 38 have been in Richmond, nine in Hagerstown, three in Cambridge City and one in Economy.
The 2021 crash was the 10th incident in more than 32 years at Richmond Municipal Airport. Among those incidents, the only other death occurred May 28, 1994, when two Cessnas with student pilots and certified instructors on board collided at the intersection of two runways. Three people were also injured in that crash.
Before the 2021 crash, the most recent Richmond airport incident was Feb. 11, 2019, when a chartered Beech 400 overran a snow-covered runway after a flight from Waukesha, Wisconsin. It rolled through a field, crossed Ind. 227 and struck a fence before coming to rest. None of the three people aboard was injured.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: NTSB: Fog disoriented pilot, causing 2021 deadly crash after takeoff
