Cincinnati

Witnesses observed the airplane overfly their homes at low altitude in a tight circular pattern. A witness about 1/2 mile from the airport '. . . watched the plane try to make a turn to the left trying to go back west to the Highland County Airport. The plane made a sharp turn, seemed to be having difficulty stabilizing the airplane . . . .' Also, a witness reported that she heard a loud noise, and then she observed an airplane just barely above the trees. The landing gear was down, and the airplane 'kept dipping up and down.' Another witness reported the airplane was 'wobbling left to right,' and then it descended into trees, struck vehicles, came to rest against a tree, and was destroyed by a post crash fire. A person, who flew with the pilot as a safety pilot on several occasions, reported that the pilot had a habit of making steep close-in turns, from downwind to base, to final; and he noticed 'lack in airspeed management during approach.' Examination of the wreckage did not disclose any preimpact failure of the airplane or engine.

While cruising at FL240, a propeller (prop) hub arm on the left prop failed, releasing the prop blade, which struck a 2nd blade, breaking off its tip. This resulted in a severe engine vibration and shutdown of the left engine. The left engine was forced downward and inboard on its mounts. The cabin depressurized, possibly from blade contact. The flight crew made an emergency descent and received a vector to divert for an ILS approach to Dubuque. The airplane was incapable of maintaining altitude and descended in instrument conditions. Subsequently, it collided with a silo and crashed about 8 miles south of Dubuque. An investigation revealed the left prop hub failed from fatigue that initiated from multiple initiation sites on the inside diameter surface of the hole for the pilot tube. There was evidence that the fatigue properties of the hub were reduced by a combination of factors, including machining marks or scratches, mixed microstructure, corrosion, decarburization, and residual stresses. All eight occupants were killed, among them George Mickelson, 52, Governor of South Dakota.

The cargo flight departed Cincinnati en route to Wichita, KS with an intermediate stop at Kansas City Downtown Airport. The flight progressed normally to a VOR runway 03 instrument approach, circling to runway 01. The pic had been cleared to commence the approach. Tower personnel subsequently advised the pic of a low altitude alert, to which the pic responded he had ground contact. The pic subsequently declared a missed approach, then said, 'I got it all right,' and he requested a 360° turn and landing on runway 01. Witnesses observed the aircraft approach from the west at a low altitude. Then, while over airport property, the aircraft turned sharply. The left wing dropped quickly as the aircraft banked nearly 90°. The aircraft impacted the ramp area 400 feet right of runway 01, in front of a fixed base operator and burst into flames. The aircraft slid about 200 feet before coming to a stop. The company chief pilot stated that the pic was deficient in VOR approaches. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

After takeoff pic was told by tower that tail stand, used to prevent aircraft from tipping on tail when loaded, was still attached to aircraft. Pic requested teardrop turn back to departure runway. Approach controller stated he saw mode C indication of 700 feet. Airport elevation is 332 feet. Aircraft was returning to runway 36R when it stalled, recovery was attempted, and aircraft impacted ground prior to completion of level off. Aircraft was 379 lbs over max takeoff weight and cg was at least 3 inches forward of the limit. No record of load manifest was found. Pic had low pic experience and received 2.7 documented flight hours with the operator's instructor pilot including his 135 competency check ride of 1.1 hours. Operator's initial training certification of pic showed 5 hours of flight training. Aircraft was a modified Beechcraft TC-45J initially built in 1943 and rebuilt by Hamilton in 1971. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The flight departed Fort Lauderdale, FL, on 8-2-84 at approximately 0815 edt for Cincinnati, OH. The aircraft wreckage was found on 11-17-84 on an up slope of big Fodderstack Mountain. The aircraft had contacted a 25 feet tall tree located 200 feet west of the main wreckage. The only known radio contact was recalled by the Monroe County airport manager who stated the pilot radioed to exchange the day's greeting. Exact weather at the accident site could not be determined. However, the airport manager recalled the high terrain being obscured with poor visibility. Both occupants were killed.

While cruising at an altitude of 5,900 feet in limited visibility due to marginal weather conditions, the twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Linville. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reduced to zero due to low ceiling, rains falls and fog.

On final approach to Yazoo City-Barrier Field, the airplane suffered an engine failure. It entered an uncontrolled descent until it collided with a house located short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all five occupants were killed. There were no injuries on the ground.

While cruising by night on a cargo flight from Elyria to Cincinnati, the pilot encountered technical problems with an engine and was cleared to divert to Mansfield-Lahm Airport. While completing a last turn, the airplane stalled and crashed few miles from the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was seriously injured.

The takeoff was attempted from a runway contaminated with snow windrows. During takeoff roll, the twin engine airplane was unstable and the pilot decided to lift off prematurely. The aircraft stalled then collided with a snow bank and crashed in flames. All four occupants were injured, two of them seriously.

While cruising by night at an altitude of 16,000 feet, the twin engine airplane went out of control, entered a dive and crashed in a near vertical attitude in a field located in Cynthiana. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all three occupants were killed.