United States of America

The pilot, a heart transplant surgeon, was advised of a donor in Las Cruces, NM. He and a physician's assistant were to fly to Las Cruces, retrieve the donor heart, and return to Albuquerque, where the transplant was to be performed. The pilot obtained a weather briefing (VMC was forecast) and filed an IFR flight plan. He fueled the jet aircraft to capacity and took off into a dark, clear, moonless night towards open, flat terrain with few ground lights. The aircraft crashed seconds later. It impacted the ground in a left wing/nose slightly low attitude at high speed. There was no evidence of preimpact failure/malfunction of the airframe, engines, instruments, or controls. The pilot had been awake for 22 hours with little or no rest. He was not current for night flight. His IFR currency could not be determined. Both occupants were killed.

On a previous flight, low power was noted in the right engine, the right engine fuel flow was 5 to 8 gal/hr less than the left engine and the right engine temperature (itt) was about 500° less than the left. A decision was made to ferry the aircraft to a maint facility to have the right engine examined. The pilot took off on a 5,186 feet runway (unrway 02C) with a light tail wind in 95° temperature, though the airport had longer runways (7,702 feet, 8,000 feet and 8,500 feet). A witness noted the aircraft lifted off at the end of the runway (charts showed the takeoff roll with normal power should have been about 3,100 feet). Witnesses reported the aircraft remained low (nearly hitting a 55 feet light standard) until it rolled right and 'dropped like a rock.' Impact occurred in a right wing low attitude about 2 miles from the departure end of runway 02C. The aircraft was extensively damaged by impact and fire; no preimpact part failure was found. Both engines had evidence of engine rotation at the time of impact. The operator's lead mechanic had reported for duty about 3 hours before the accident flight, but he had not been informed of the engine problem before the aircraft took off. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The pilot reported that the #2 engine began to lose power as he was flying under a low overcast and about 500 feet above the Yukon River. Subsequently, the airplane descended and the fuselage and left propeller contacted the water. With these problems and decreasing visibility ahead, the pilot elected to make a 180° turn. He said that about midway through the turn, the #2 engine lost all power. The airplane then crashed into trees and was destroyed by a post-impact fire. No reason was found for either engine to lose power before water or tree contact.

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.

The pilot received a weather briefing and filed an IFR flight plan from Sitka to Anchorage, Alaska. During takeoff from runway 11 at Sitka, he provided a pirep to the flight service station, saying that he had entered the cloud bases at 700 feet msl. While departing, a left turn was made, and the airplane crashed on Mt Verstovia at the 1420 feet level, approximately 3 miles east of the airport. An on-scene investigation revealed the airplane struck wooded terrain while climbing on a heading of 359°. Several tree limbs had been clean cut (by the propellers); wreckage was spread over a 516 feet area. A standard instrument departure (Sitka 5 sid) was available which would have provided terrain clearance with a right turn-out from runway 11 to an initial climb heading of 280°.

The pilot noted an over torque condition in the left engine as the aircraft was on an ILS approach. He made a go-around and initiated another approach with the engine shut down. He was unable to maintain altitude and the aircraft began a decent that was not arrested. Subsequently, it crashed into 2 homes, approximately 6 miles from the airport. An exam of the left engine revealed the drive shaft from the fuel pump to the fuel control was sheared at the plastic coupling. Further exam revealed the twin bearings that supported the driveshaft had failed. Also, there was evidence the drive shaft had shifted and subsequently an overtorque condition resulted. All three occupants were killed.

The passengers and witnesses reported that during takeoff, the aircraft yawed both left and right after lift-off. It then veered to the left and contacted the ground in a left wing low attitude between the runway and a parallel taxiway. An investigation revealed evidence that the left engine had sustained a partial loss of power due to a malfunctioning fuel pump. There were indications the power loss was not sufficient to trigger or allow completion of the autofeathering operation of the left propeller. Feathering of the left propeller had been manually initiated, but the propeller had not reached the feather position before impact. Manual feathering operation required the feathering pump button be held about 5 sec. 'V' speeds (kias) for this flight were: V1 92, VR 99, V2 110, normal VMCA (dead engine propeller feathered, flaps set for takeoff and aircraft out of ground effect) 101, VMCA (dead engine propeller unfeathered/windmilling and flaps set for takeoff) 127 knots. Exam of the actuators revealed the gear was retracted and the flaps were set for takeoff. Both pilots and a passenger who was seating on the jumpseat were killed.

The right engine lost power during the initial climb after lift-off. A witness heard a noise and observed flames coming from the right engine cowling as the airplane climbed. The airplane entered a turn after climbing about 200 feet, descended through a small grove of trees, crashed in a pasture, and burned. During takeoff, the plane's gross weight was about 11,050 lbs and the cg was behind the aft limit. Its maximum certified weight limit was 9,700 lbs. The pilot was aware of a gross weight problem before takeoff. An exam revealed evidence that the left engine propeller was in the feathered position and the right propeller was not feathered at impact. A check of the right engine disclosed that the n°3 cylinder intake valve had failed from fatigue. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

About 5-10 min after takeoff the pilot leaned the mixture on a rough running engine. About 30 minutes later the left engine began to overspeed. The pilot was unable to feather the prop. The pilot returned toward the departure point with max power on the right engine. Unable to reach the airport, an emergency landing was made on a highway, directional control was lost, and the airplane collided with trees. Last annual was in 1978. Left propeller start lock pin blade L3 corroded, in extended position. Left propeller pitch control cable separated, frayed, corroded. General deterioration of piston rings and #6 conrod. Right prop governor control cables corroded, frayed. Right engine #5 intake pipe connection and hose missing. All compression rings pistons #1 and #5 severely worn, top two compression rings piston #2 seized. No record that the airplane had been inspected by an a&p mechanic or FAA approved airframe repair station. Pilot stated flight manual not available or used during ground or flight operations.

The pilot was flying the twin engine airplane in the traffic pattern for a fly-by event at an air show. Two fly-by circuits had been completed, and the airplane was on the third downwind leg at an estimated altitude of 600 to 800 feet agl when the right engine lost power. The main landing gear had been previously extended, and the pilot elected not to retract the landing gear in anticipation of landing on the runway. The pilot reported that he performed emergency procedures by pushing the throttles forward and attempting to restart the right engine. The right engine did not restart, and the airplane collided with terrain short of the runway. The pilot did not claim to have feathered the inoperative right engine's propellers. Postaccident inspection of the right engine revealed no evidence of preimpact anomaly. The right engine's magnetos and carburetor were damaged and not functionally tested. The propeller of the right engine was found in an unfeathered, fine pitch position. All five occupants were injured, four seriously.