Test

While taxiing at Omega AFB, the aircraft caught fire for unknown reasons. The crew was able to stop the airplane and to evacuate before it would be totally destroyed by fire.

On post-production test flight, pilot noted symptoms of uncommanded lean mixture and turned to return for landing. En route to airport, engine lost power completely. On base leg for forced landing (off airport) fire broke out in engine area and burned through hydraulic line causing gear to extend. Due to increased glide angle, planned flight path would not clear obstruction (Draw Bridge). When the pilot maneuvered to avoid the obstacle, the aircraft stalled, mushed and collided with a boat dock. Investigation revealed a loose fuel line fitting. The pilot, sole on board, was seriously injured.

Crash on landing in Lajes in the following circumstances, according to the following testimony:
I was the Maintenance Job Controller on duty when the day this occurred. The incident aircraft had declared an inflight emergency (IFE) for (if I recall correctly) #3 engine shutdown. In any case it was right wing engine that was out of service. Fire trucks were standing by as this was SOP for IFEs. The aircraft came in from south to north. On landing roll the crew reversed all three operating engines instead of only the running symmetrical engines of each wing. Having twice the reverse thrust action exerted on the left wing caused the aircraft to yaw left and depart the runway. After going through the perimeter fence off to the left of the runway, it rode up some rock walls and nearly impacted two dwellings on the other side before coming to rest. The left wing caught on fire. In pictures that are available you can see where one of the propellers that departed on impact sliced a hole in the fuselage just in front of the red prop plane of rotation line on the left hand side. Fortunately, because the fire trucks were already lined up on the runway, the fire was extinguished quickly. The only injury to the aircrew was a broken finger. Some side notes. The aircraft was carrying the produce flown in weekly for the commissary on base, No big deal in the scope of things but fruits and veggies were in short supply unless you went local. Also, in one of those oddities of life that made it all the more surreal, the Line Chief had said over the maintenance radio just before it landed, “I hope he remembers to reverse only one and four when he lands.” The next words I heard from him were, “We have a 130 in the dirt!” “We have a 130 on fire!” You just can’t make that stuff up. It was almost prescient. The aircraft was eventually mated with the cockpit section of C-130 that was written off due to a hard landing in Germany. They flew that in on a C-5 with replacement wings etc. Robbins Depot Maintenance came in and bolted it all together. It eventually flew out on a onetime flight to the depot in Italy.
Thanks to Bill Hewett, maintenance controller on duty when it occurred.

The aircraft was on its first production flight test. Shortly after lift-off it was observed to enter an abrupt right bank, followed by a steep left bank before crashing. Examination of the left wing revealed that its aileron cables were connected to their respective bellcrank attach points backwards. Both pilots were killed.

Several days prior, a fam flight was intended in the aircraft to be given to the pilot by another person who represented himself as a pilot. The flight was cancelled due to a problem with the left engine. On the day of the accident, the other person told the pilot that the engine was repaired and they proceeded to conduct a local test flight with the other person conducting the takeoff from the left seat. They reportedly switched seats prior to landing. The approach appeared normal until just prior to landing. A burst of sound from the engines was heard and the aircraft yawed and rolled left. The left wing impacted the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled. The last logbook entry was in 10/82. The owner could not be located. The other pilot could not be located and there is no record of him being issued a pilot's certificate. During teardown of the left engine the servo fuel injector was found rigged extremely lean at the idle stop.

The pilot, also owner of the aircraft, elected to make a post-engine change test flight himself. After takeoff from Shoreham-by-Sea Airport runway 07 in good weather, eye-witnesses considered that the take-off and initial climb were normal except that intermittent puffs of dark smoke were seen coming from the right engine. At about 600 feet above ground level the aircraft was seen to roll to the right then turn on to its back and spin to the ground. After a short pause the aircraft burst into flames and was largely consumed by an intense fire. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Two mechanics took over the airplane to complete a high-speed taxi check following maintenance. While taxiing, the airplane went out of control and veered off taxiway, causing the left main gear and the nose gear to collapse. The airplane came to rest on soft ground and was damaged beyond repair while both occupants escaped uninjured.

The twin engine aircraft (second P.68 prototype) departed Naples-Capodichino on a local test flight. While cruising over the gulf of Gaeta, the pilot encountered controllability problems. The airplane entered a dive and crashed into the sea off Gaeta. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The flight was conducting single-engine flight tests with the inboard gear doors removed and was being photographed by a chase aircraft. At the end of the tests the pilot was unable to restart the left engine and returned for a single-engine landing. The pilot overshot the landing attempt and executed a single-engine go-around. The pilot then reported he had a gear problem. An occupant of the chase aircraft reported that the main gear were hanging 75 to 80 degrees from the horizontal. A company employee at the airport reported that the nose gear was about 10° aft of the normal down and locked position. The aircraft continued on a wsw heading away from the airport, passing over several suitable emergency landing sites while in a slow descent until colliding with the guy/grounding wire atop a powerline pole located 4 miles wsw of the arpt. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were killed.

Prior to the post-maintenance inspection flight the pilot/owner, who is a certificated a&p mechanic, had been calibrating the fuel flow on the right engine fuel injector pump. An external line had been connected to the fuel flow transmitter fitting of the fuel injector. Prior to the test flight the external line was removed and the fuel flow replaced. About 10 min after takeoff the pilot observed flames from 25 to 15 psi. The right engine was shut down and the prop feathered. After landing the pilot was unable to taxi the aircraft and the aircraft was abandoned.