Wilmington-New Hanover County

On final approach to Raleigh-Durham Airport, while on a positioning flight from Wilmington-New Hanover Airport, the single engine airplane went out of control and crashed nearby the runway. Both occupants were quickly rescued and the airplane was damaged beyond repair. It was reported that the pilot was attempting a go around procedure when the accident occurred.

During a night, northbound, international over water flight that paralleled the east coast of the southeast United States, the airplane encountered headwinds. Upon arrival at the intended destination, the weather was below forecasted conditions, resulting in multiple instrument approach attempts. After the first missed approach, the controller advised the crew that there was an airport 36 miles to the north with "much better" weather, but the crew declined, citing a need to clear customs. During the third missed approach, the left engine lost power, and while the airplane was being vectored for a fourth approach, the right engine lost power. Utilizing the global positioning system, the captain pointed the airplane toward the intersection of the airport's two runways. Approximately 50 feet above the ground, he saw runway lights, and landed. The captain attempted to lower the landing gear prior to the landing, but it would not extend due to a lack of hydraulic pressure from the loss of engine power, and the alternate gear extension would not have been completed in time. The gear up landing resulted in damage to the underside of the fuselage and punctures of the pressure vessel. The captain stated that the airplane arrived in the vicinity of the destination with about 1,000 pounds of fuel on board or 55 minutes of fuel remaining. However, air traffic and cockpit voice recordings revealed that the right engine lost power about 14 minutes after arrival, and the left engine, about 20 minutes after arrival. Federal air regulations require, for an instrument flight rules flight plan, that an airplane carry enough fuel to complete the flight to the first airport of landing, fly from that airport to an alternate, and fly after that for 45 minutes at normal cruising speed. The loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion, with no preaccident mechanical anomalies noted to the airplane.

During arrival, the pilot made an ILS localizer back course approach to runway 16 and was cleared to land. He reported he was initiating a missed approach. Approximately 10 seconds later, he reported the runway in sight and requested a visual approach to land on runway 34. The pilot was cleared to land and the aircraft was observed to maneuver to the right (west of the runway), then turn back left to a final approach. However, it crashed short of runway 34. An exam of the crash site revealed evidence that the aircraft was in a normal upright attitude on a heading of 340°, when it crashed. Initial impact was with the approach lighting system short of runway 34. A King Air pilot, who landed on runway 16 before the accident, estimated the cloud bases were about 400 feet agl. Minimum descent altitude (MDA) for the back course approach was 460 feet msl. MDA for a circling approach to runway 16 was 550 feet msl. The airport elevation was 32 feet. Both occupants were killed.

Witnesses reported the aircraft took off and climbed to about 300 feet while in a wide left turn. According to witnesses, the wings were rocking and erratic engine sounds were noted. The aircraft was turning downwind when it abruptly pitched down, rolled left until inverted, descended and crash. Examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of malfunction, although the left prop had less rotational damage than the right prop. Examination of aircraft records revealed the aircraft was inactive for about 9 years until it was returned to service less than a year before the accident. The aircraft accumulated about 17 hours since it was returned to service. The pilot stated to a witness before the accident that he had not done single engine operation in the aircraft. The aircraft was overloaded more than 200 lbs. All five occupants were killed.

The right engine failed during takeoff immediately after rotation 3,000 feet down the 7,002 feet runway 16. The pilot continued the flight and the landing gear remained extended. The unauthorized pilot rated passenger made transmissions to the tower. Witnesses reported that the aircraft reached approximately 150 feet then descended into trees 20° to the right of runway centerline and 3,000 feet south of the airport. The pre-1979 3rd stage stator assembly in the right engine did not have the latest manufacture welding process/inspection and failed causing the uncontained turbine failure. Instruments in the wreckage indicated that an undeterminable loss of electrical power occurred at the time of engine failure. Performance data indicated that a safe landing could have been made on the remaining runway past the point of engine failure. Both occupants were killed.

The pilot, sole on board, departed Fayetteville, NC, on a flight to Wilmington to demonstrate the airplane to potential customers. After being cleared for a VOR approach to runway 34, the pilot started the descent in bad weather conditions with thunderstorm activity. In severe turbulences, control was lost and the airplane stalled and crashed in a field. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

The crew was completing a local training flight at Wilmington-New Hanover County Airport. After touchdown, the airplane went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. While all three crew members were uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.