Executive/Corporate/Business

As the airplane approached 22,000 feet, the pilot reported that both engines stopped running within seconds of each other. During the emergency landing approach the airplane collided with trees. Onscene investigation revealed no mechanical anomalies with the engines. The fuel system was empty, other than traces of fuel found in the left and right engine's fuel injector servos and flow dividers. Both wing fuel tank caps o-rings were hardened and had flat spots on them. The caps' opening tabs were able to be opened at 8 and 3 lbs of force, respectively. The company holding the airplane's type certificate states an opening force of 16 lbs of force is required. The company's annual inspection checklist requires that the tabs be checked. No record of this being accomplished was found in the airframe logbook. The pilot operating handbook states that the fuel cap tab tension must be checked during the preflight inspection.

The airplane was on takeoff climb, about 400 feet above the ground, when the engine partially and then totally lost power. The pilot did a forced landing in a bean field. The flight occurred following maintenance to check a low manifold pressure condition. According to the pilot, a 'full' engine runup was done before takeoff. He stated: 'the takeoff was smooth, we rotated at an airspeed of slightly more than 80 knots. The climb for the first 350 (feet of altitude), airspeed was routine... I felt a power loss and noticed the manifold pressure dropping. At this point I felt I had enough power to return to the airport... as the turn was being completed, power went out completely.' The post-accident examination of the airplane did not disclose evidence of mechanical malfunction.

During an aborted takeoff, the airplane overran the 4,451 foot long runway, went down a hill, and struck a fence. According to the pilot, 'during the takeoff roll, the indicated airspeed needle climbed to approximately 60 knots, but then would go no further... My attempts to dislodge it by tapping on the face of the gauge were futile...I pulled back the throttles and applied full brakes...' The pilot reported that based on the existing conditions 'the airplane can accelerate from rest to rotation speed and back to rest in less than 3,500 feet.' The examination of the airplane revealed the pitot tube was internally obstructed with an insect and mud.

About 2 minutes after takeoff, the pilot declared an emergency, stating that he had lost an engine and needed to return to the airport. The airplane descended into rough, brush-covered terrain and then struck a large dirt berm, about 1-1/2 miles northeast of the departure airport. Examination of the engines did not reveal any obvious mechanical malfunction. The fuel was correct. Combustion chamber signatures indicated that the engines were operated at a lean or mild detonation condition. The flaps were extended about 30 degrees and the landing gear was retracted. The surviving passenger could not recall any dramatic engine problems, only that the airplane could not maintain altitude. The pilot and front seat passenger were not wearing shoulder harnesses.

Following an uneventful flight from Gbadolite, the crew started a night approach to Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport. On short final, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the aircraft struck trees and crashed 3 km short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all nine occupants were killed, among them Mpinga Kasenda, Minister of Foreign Affairs by the Zaire Government, Patrice Mandoko Bingoto, General Manager of SNEL (Société Nationale d’Électricité) and two Tunisian diplomats.

Seven minutes after takeoff from Seville-San Pablo Airport, while climbing, the crew reported technical problems and elected to return. Few minutes later, the situation worsened, the crew declared an emergency and started a rapid descent. The aircraft landed on runway 27 at an excessive speed. Upon touchdown, the right main gear collapsed. The aircraft rolled for about 2 km then veered off runway to the right and came to rest. All 10 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

At 0815 edt, N36444 landed with light snow falling and the temperature above freezing. Snow continued falling and the temperature dropped below freezing. At about 1100, the pilot filed an IFR flight plan and had a lineman brush snow from the wings. The lineman noted that patches of ice remained on the left wing, but the pilot declined to deice the plane. (At an airport 3 miles away, another flight was delayed due to ice that had formed below a snow cover on a plane that sat outside from 0945 to 1100.) The surviving passenger said that after takeoff, N36444 lost lift and yawed left. It appeared to recover, then vibrated, yawed, banked left, descended, and impacted the ground. After the accident, the engines were test run with no notable deficiencies. There was evidence the pilot was taking prescription medication. Tests of his blood showed 0.157 ug/ml of diazepam and 0.134 ug/ml of nordiazepam. Tests of his urine showed 0.152 ug/ml of nordiazepam and 0.167 ug/ml of oxazepam. On 3/2/90, the pilot had surgery for a tumor of (or near) the left optic nerve. In his last FAA medical application, he denied that he had medical treatment in the previous 5 years and did not report use of any medications. The aviation medical examiner had prescribed reserpine (for hypertension) and was aware of the surgery, but this was not reported in the pilot's faa medical record.

The flight was cleared for the ILS approach to runway 30. The flying pilot was the pilot-in-command. According to the cockpit voice recorder transcripts, the flying pilot had difficulty making a stabilized approach. During the initial descent the airplane entered an overspeed condition and the airplane flew through the localizer. During his attempt to re-establish the airplane on the localizer, the pilot allowed the airspeed to decrease to the point where the prestall 'stick-shaker' activated. The stick shaker continued until the airplane departed controlled flight and impacted terrain. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies were discovered during the investigation. All three occupants were killed.

The pilot reported ice accretion en route to his destination and subsequently requested, and received a lower altitude from ATC. The flight was issued a clearance for a VOR-A approach to the Greensburg Airport, and was observed by a witness north of the airport to fly for a short period down runway 18 about seven feet above the runway. The witness then observed the airplane began to climb and fly off in a southerly direction. Other witnesses saw the airplane flying in the vicinity of the airport beneath an overcast ceiling estimated between 300 feet and 1,000 feet AGL. One witness, located about two miles south of the airport, saw the airplane turn sharply left, drop nose low, recover, drop nose low, and then descend from sight behind trees. Investigators and rescue personnel discovered a large amount of ice debris along the flight path and outside the fire ring at the crash site.

En route from Manila to Virac, the twin engine aircraft lost altitude then crashed on the slope of a mountain located near Mauban. All five occupants were killed. It is believed that the pilot encountered engine problems for unknown reasons.