Crash of a Beechcraft B90 King Air in Paducah

During a return flight at night to Decatur, AL, the pilot noted his weather radar was inoperative. He visually avoided thunderstorms (tstms), which had been forecasted. While avoiding tstms, he noted a reduction in engine power, a slight yaw, indications of fuel flow irregularity and that the left and right boost pumps were inoperative. These occurred at about the time, he saw a white arc which he said had jumped from the prop, spinner or nacelle area to the aircraft's nose. Due to the weather, he elected to divert to Paducah. After the airport was in sight, he needed to lose altitude before landing and was cleared to make a 360° turn. While turning, he lost sight of the airport, then rolled out on the wrong heading and started flying toward a strobe light at an industrial complex. When he realized his error and saw the airport, he turned toward the runway; but as he was maneuvering, the aircraft lost altitude, hit trees and crashed. An examination of the engines and fuel pumps revealed no indication of a preimpact failure. No physical evidence of a lightning strike was found, but the nose and engines were badly damaged from impact.