Fallon

The airplane was departing into instrument meteorological conditions using a standard instrument departure. The takeoff instructions consisted of making a climbing right turn direct to a nondirectional beacon. After departing, the pilot made a radio communication to an air traffic controller asking if he will tell him when to turn. The controller replied that he would not be calling his turn and that the pilot should fly the departure as published making a climbing right turn to overfly the approach end of the runway. The pilot acknowledged the communication, which was his last transmission. The airplane made a 360° turn and descended below the cloud layer. The airplane then climbed back into the cloud layer and made an inverted loop, descending into the ground in a near-vertical attitude. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. Recorded audio of the airplane before the accident was consistent with the engines operating. The signatures on both propellers were consistent with one another and consistent with the engines operating at a similar rpm. The pilot was qualified and recently underwent recurrent training. The reasons the pilot became spatially disoriented could not definitely determined. The pilot left the anti-collision lights on while in the clouds, which may have resulted in him having flicker vertigo.

The aircraft had recently been returned to service after 5 years in storage. On this flight, it was being used to transport two political candidates on their campaign itinerary. During takeoff from runway 03, the right engine lost power on the initial climb and the aircraft descended and crashed about 2 miles southeast of the airport. The pilot did not complete the emergency procedure for an engine failure. There was evidence that he did not feather the propeller, did not bank into the good engine, and did not close the cowl flaps on the inoperative engine. An exam of the right engine disclosed overheating and erosion of the #1 & #4 pistons, which resulted in holes in the top edges of the pistons. Also, there were clogged fuel injectors, contamination and corrosion of the fuel injector pump, and contamination and partial obstruction of the manifold valve. Additionally, the absolute pressure control of the turbocharger was found to be incorrectly adjusted. The pilot's medical certificate was dated 8/13/86.