NYC06LA136 · Howe/Wilmer Lancair 360

The instrument rated pilot was conducting a planned 20 minute flight in the amateur built airplane that he owned, under instrument meteorological conditions. Approximately 5 minutes after being cleared for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach, the airplane's radar target disappeared. There were no distress calls made by the pilot, and the airplane's radar track was observed to deviate to the right, prior to the last radar return. The airplane impacted terrain in a wooded area about 4 miles south-southwest of the airport. A wreckage path was oriented on a heading of 230 degrees, and damage to trees in the surrounding area was consistent with an approximate 60-degree descent angle. Examination of the fiberglass constructed airframe did not provide any evidence of obvious preimpact mechanical malfunctions; however, the highly fragmented nature of the wreckage was difficult to examine. No preimpact engine malfunctions were observed. The airplane's most recent condition inspection was performed about 1 month prior to the accident. At that time, the airplane had been operated for 1,024 total hours. It was estimated that the airplane had been operated for about 400 hours since it was purchased by the pilot. The pilot had accumulated about 890 hours of total flight experience at the time of the accident, and had logged a total of 189 "instrument approaches," which included several prior ILS approaches to the same approach utilized during the accident. The weather reported at the airport, about the time of the accident, was: variable winds at 6 knots; visibility 9 statute miles; ceiling 700 feet overcast; temperature 19 degrees Celsius (C); dew point 17 degrees C; altimeter 29.90 inches of mercury.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset