Oceanside

The pilots were performing skydiving flights while the right-seated pilot was training the left-seated pilot on the operation. The pilots completed six flights without incident and completed the drop of the skydivers on the accident flight normally. The right-seated pilot could not completely recollect the minutes leading up to the accident due to his injuries. He did recall that airplane was descending as expected with the power at idle. The recorded ADS-B data revealed that after turning onto final approach, the airplane then completed a right 360° turn presumably because the altitude was too high. The right-seated pilot attempted to increase the power by slightly nudging the throttle forward and thought the engine power did not increase as expected. A performance study revealed that in the last 70 seconds of recorded data, the airplane underwent a series of speed and thrust oscillations consistent with a pilot increasing and then decreasing the power lever. The right seat pilot recalls aiming for an open dirt field and observing a berm in the immediate flight path. In an effort to avoid the berm, he maneuvered the airplane into a right turn. The airplane landed short of the runway, resulting in a collision with the berm. The engine was producing power at the time of impact. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The right-seated pilot was in the process of training the left-seated pilot and stated that he took over the controls during the final approach. It is unknown when he took over the controls, so it is unknown which pilot was at the controls during the speed oscillations. The right-seated pilot likely took over the controls too late and the airplane impacted the terrain. The left-seated pilot’s ability to hear the changes in engine power might have been hindered because she was listening to music through her headset at an elevated decibel level. The airplane was modified by a Supplemental Type Certificate that replaces the original Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turbine engine with a Honeywell TPE331 turbine engine. The TPE331 engine’s characteristics are such that if the airplane is on final approach with the power near idle, the throttle sensitivity (change in thrust per unit of power lever movement) increases around the transition between the propellergoverning and underspeed-governing modes of the engine, which corresponds to a zero-thrust condition. Near this transition point, small movements of the power lever (about ¼ to ½ inch of deflection) can result in relatively large thrust changes that can surprise pilots inexperienced with this behavior and result in pilot-induced oscillations (PIO). Given the thrust oscillations observed shortly before the end of the ADS-B data, it is likely that the left-seated pilot was at the controls and experienced such a PIO on a short final approach to land.

The pilot and his passenger, his son, departed from a controlled airport at 1436 hours. He climbed the airplane to about 5,200 feet mean sea level. Recorded communications between the pilot and the control tower did not reveal anything out of the ordinary. Radar data showed the pilot in a progressive climb to about 5,200 feet. After maintaining that altitude for over two minutes, the airplane descended at an excessive rate until it collided with the ocean about one mile offshore. The engines and propellers were recovered and examined. The engine examination did not reveal any pre existing discrepancies. The propellers had deep leading edge gouges, 'S' twists, and one broken blade. No pre existing deficiencies were found during the examination of the airplane's logbooks and maintenance records. Investigation did not reveal any reason for the airplane's rapid descent and its in flight collision with the ocean. Both occupants were killed.

The crew was engaged in a training sortie from March AFB when the heavy bomber collided in unclear circumstances with a USN Vought F4U-4 Corsair registered 81218 from VMA-251 flying out from MCAS El Toro. The 4 plane Corsair formation was on a GCI and Camera Gunnery flight. Apparently they were asked by the B-29s to make head on gunnery passes. The first three Corsairs did so, but the fourth, piloted by 2nd Lt Joe K. Jensen did not. Following the collision, both aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 30 miles west of Oceanside. The pilot of the Corsair was killed as well as 11 crew members from the Superfortress, six other have been rescued.

The seaplane departed March AFB on a flight to San Diego-Rockwell Field. While cruising at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the airplane suffered a structural failure. It entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a pasture in Oceanside. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and all seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Carl H. Murray,
Sgt Archie W. Snodgrass,
Sgt Bonnell L. Herrick,
Cpl Walter T. Taylor,
Pvt Stanley Book,
Pvt Albert Overend,
Pvt Vincent Galdin.

En route from Tijuana to Los Angeles, weather conditions deteriorated. The visibility was very bad due to heavy rain falls. The crew reduced his altitude and apparently attempted an emergency landing in an open field when, on short final, the aircraft rolled to the left and lost height, causing the left wing to struck the ground. Out of control, the airplane crashed and slid for about 60 metres before coming to rest, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 16 occupants were killed. Up to date, worst aircraft accident in the United States.