Beechcraft 200 Super King Air

The twin engine aircraft departed New Delhi-Indira Gandhi Airport on an ambulance flight to Kulu-Bhuntar, carrying three doctors and two pilots. While descending to Kulu-Bhuntar Airport in IMC conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 20 km from the destination airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all five occupants were killed.

En route from Arizona to California, the pilot became nauseous and began to vomit. The pilot advised air traffic that he was sick and radio contact was lost. The airplane had descended from 16,500 feet msl and was on an established course to his destination and level at 10,500 feet msl being flown by the autopilot. The last thing that he recalled was approaching his destination. When the pilot regained consciousness he looked outside the airplane to determine where he was. The surface was obscured in cloud cover. On his left side was a Navy F18 fighter plane, and they briefly communicated by hand signals. The F18 pilot indicated he should turn around towards land. The accident pilot determined that he was 186 nautical miles southwest of his destination and over the ocean. He reversed his course. The pilot attempted to contact air traffic without success; another aircraft relayed the pilot's message to air traffic. The pilot declared a medical emergency and advised that because of low fuel he would not be able to return to land. Within 10 minutes the fuel onboard was exhausted and the pilot configured the airplane for the best angle of glide and ditching at sea. Subsequently, the pilot descended through low stratus and ditched the airplane in the ocean at dusk. The pilot exited the airplane with a hand held VHF radio, two flashlights, a cell phone, and a trash bag for flotation; he climbed onto the top of the fuselage to await rescue. At this time it was dark. After about 30 minutes a Navy S3B circled the downed plane until a rescue helicopter arrived and rescued him. While at the pilot's Arizona residence he sprayed for bugs and insects using the pesticide 'Dursban.' During the process he opened the spray container to replenish the pesticide and the built-up pressure sprayed the vapor into his face. He cleaned himself up and then departed for the airport and the return flight to Palomar. He had bought food to eat during the flight, and shortly thereafter, he became sick in flight. The EPA as of June 8, 2000, has banned Dursban from the commercial market.

The crew of C-GKBN, a Beechcraft 200 Super King Air with 5 passengers, made a straight-in approach, with approach flap settings, to a snow-covered and icy runway at Hamburg, AB, Canada. Upon touchdown in 2 inches of snow, directional control was lost. The aircraft turned sideways on the strip, struck a snow windrow, which then pulled the aircraft off the strip into a stand of trees. The First Officer had made the landing. The aircraft had picked up about 1/8 inch of ICA on the approach. Approach flap had been used for the landing instead of landing flap. The aircraft had landed with a five knot tail wind. The landing touchdown was reported to be very firm. There were no injuries but the aircraft was substantially damaged. Company representatives examining the runway surface after the accident discovered a rut running diagonally across the runway, which was apparently present prior the landing and may have contributed to the loss of directional control of the aircraft.

Shortly after being cleared for takeoff on runway 18 (3,899 feet by 150 feet, dry concrete) at Merrill C. Meigs Field, Chicago, Illinois, the airplane impacted into Lake Michigan, approximately 300 feet south of the end of the runway. The tower controller said that at the 3/4 field point, the airplane had not rotated. 'All I can see are lights [from the airplane]. At the point where he would have been at the end of the runway, [I] lost the lights.' A witness on the airport said that when the airplane went by, it 'didn't sound like most King Airs do at that point.' There was a pulsating sound, but it was not heavy. The witness said that the airplane was 'bouncing up and down on the [gear] struts, and wasn't coming off the ground.' NTSB Materials examination of the pilot's control yoke showed that there were small distortions in the holes of the column and the rod where the control lock would be inserted. A small crack was observed around 1/4 of the control lock rod hole. The control lock was a substitute for the original airplane equipment. The examination of the control lock showed 'several shiny scratches ... parallel to the length of the pin.' A small deformation was observed near the top of the pin part of the control lock. The company flight department's third pilot said that when they flew the airplane, they always placed the control lock in the pilot's side cockpit wall pocket, along with a car key and a remote hanger door opener. The car key and the door opener were found in the wall pocket during the on-scene investigation. The control lock was
recovered from the lake, 7 days later.

The pre-takeoff instrument flight rules clearance for the flight called for the airplane to climb and maintain 5,000 feet, and to expect flight level 220, 10 minutes after departure. The clearance was read back correctly by a member of the flight crew. Shortly after takeoff, a member of the flight crew asked air traffic control for a higher altitude, and then stated 'uh, you want us at twenty two hundred.' The approach controller transmitted 'should be at five thousand;' however, there were no further transmissions from the airplane. The airplane wreckage was located at an elevation of about 2,300 feet, approximately 4.8 miles west of the departure airport. The airplane impacted wooded up-sloping terrain. Several broken trees were observed, which led to the beginning of the debris path. The trees were broken at about the same height. A weather observation taken at an airport about 12 miles north-northwest of the accident site, about the time of the accident included: few Clouds at 300 feet and a ceiling of 1,700 feet overcast.