Taos

After passing the initial approach fix, during an instrument approach to the destination airport, radar and radio contact were lost with the business jet. One witness reported hearing "distressed engine noises overhead," and looked up and saw what appeared to be a small private jet flying overhead. The engine seemed to be "cutting in and out." The witness further reported observing the airplane in a left descending turn until his view was blocked by a ridge. The witness then heard an explosion and saw a big cloud of smoke rising over the ridge. A second witness heard a loud noise and looked up and saw a small white airplane with two engines. The witness stated that the airplane started to turn left with the nose of the airplane slightly pointing toward the ground. The airplane appeared to be trying to land on a road. A third witness heard the roar of the airplane's engines, and looked toward the noise and observed the airplane in a vertical descent (nose dive) impact the ground. The witness "heard the engines all the way to the ground." Examination of the airframe and engines did not disclose any structural or mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. The National Weather Service had issued a SIGMET for severe turbulence and mountain wave activity. Satellite images depicted bands of altocumulus undulates and/or rotor clouds over the accident site.

A witness reported hearing the distinctive sound of a radial engine just before the crash, and right after that a loud crashing noise. The witness observed a large cloud of dust forming, subsequently saw the plane parts scattering from west to east across the pasture, and then observed the fuselage come to rest. A second witness saw the airplane hit the ground and a cloud of dust form about one-quarter of a mile long and as high as a highline wire. The witness said that after the dust settled he saw scattered plane parts, a highline wire down, and a wing part spilling fuel. The witness also stated that the airplane was traveling from west to east and looked horizontal at impact At 12:59:57, approximately 10 minutes prior to the time of the accident, air traffic control radar identified a target 8 nautical miles northwest of the accident site at an altitude of 5,500 feet mean sea level (MSL). However, this target could not be positively identified as the accident airplane. A postmortem examination of the pilot by a Medical Investigator reported significant natural disease findings included coronary atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of the arteries), and chronic thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland). Both of these diseases can cause sudden cardiac problems including an arrhythmia or heart attack.

The commercial pilot flew the airplane on a cross-country flight of at least 2 hours and 47 minutes before dropping of his passengers, and flew back for 2 hours and 7 minutes without refueling. The pilot reported that as the airplane turned onto final approach, the right engine began to surge. He reduced the power on the right engine and increased power on the left, but the airplane started to roll right so he elected to reduce the power on the left engine and land in an alley. Prior to impacting wires, the pilot retracted the landing gear and brought the condition levers to "cut-off." A witness observed the airplane prior to impact and noted that the "motor wasn't on." The airplane impacted power lines, a tree, a natural gas meter, two residences, and a fence. The fuel tanks were compromised during the impact sequence, and the fire department sprayed the area with fire retardant foam. A test of the water runoff revealed "negative results for petroleum risk." Examination of both engines' fuel lines between their respective firewalls and fuel heaters, and fuel pumps and fuel control units revealed that they were void of fuel.

The pilot obtained a weather briefing for the IFR flight to Taos, New Mexico, and was advised of forecast conditions for light to moderate rime icing and moderate turbulence at his destination. During descent, about 30 nm east of the Taos VOR, at 15,200 feet, the pilot reported 'light rime icing' and 3 minutes later 'freezing rain.' The airplane was cleared for the VOR DME-B approach to the Taos Airport, and radar services were terminated. The airplane impacted the ground in a steep nose down attitude 7 nm southeast of the VOR and 1 nm right of the inbound approach course. Weather data indicated that the airplane entered clouds about 6 nm east of where 'light rime' was reported and remained in the clouds until it descended below 10,000 feet. Meteorological investigation indicated that the freezing level was about 10,700 feet. Radar data revealed cyclic variations in the airplane's ground speed from 120 to 190 knots, as it crossed the high mountain range east of taos. There was a pirep of severe turbulence on the eastern slope of the mountain range. All four occupants were killed.

The airplane impacted slightly rising terrain in a 15° left bank, slight nose up attitude while descending shortly after takeoff in dark night IMC. There were rain and snow showers in the area and it was devoid of visible ground reference lights. The difference between the takeoff heading and the impact heading was 75° and the airplane had traveled 3,987 feet from the departure end of the runway at initial impact. The wreckage subsequently traveled an additional 837 feet through the brush. The pilot stated that the takeoff was normal in all aspects and all of the airplane systems were operating normally. He stated that the last thing he remembered was passing through 8,500 feet with a rate of climb of 1,500 feet per minute. The airport elevation was 7,091 feet. He did not recall the radio altimeter alert or the warning light activating. No evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction was found during the investigation. Rescue of the occupants were delayed due to the weather, darkness, and spurious elt signals masked by the wreckage.

After touchdown on runway 04 at Taos Airport, the airplane went out of control and crashed on a snowbank. All 10 occupants escaped with minor injuries while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.