Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

The pilot stated that he initiated a fuel transfer due to a fuel imbalance. To affect the fuel transfer, he said he "began crossfeed right to left." When the airplane was about 5 to 10 miles away from Spruce Creek Airport, the pilot said he began his descent from 12,500, and also executed a left turn to begin setting up to land, when suddenly, both engines ceased operating. When he leveled the wings both engines restarted due to auto-ignition. He said the fuel gages showed 300 to 350 lbs of fuel for the right tank, and 100 to 150 pounds on the left, so he decided to continue his approach to Spruce Creek Airport. As he approached Spruce Creek Airport, he again entered a left bank to prepare for a left base to runway 23, and while established in the left turn, both engines ceased operating a second time. He said he did not think he could reach the runway, and decided to make an landing on a taxiway. When the wings became level after the turn, he said both engines again restarted while in the vicinity of the beginning of the taxiway. As he was about to land, he said a car pulled out onto the taxiway, and stopped on the centerline, so he applied power to avoid the car. He said he climbed straight out, and when he made a climbing left turn, he said the engines ceased operating a third time, and the airplane descended towards a cluster of condos. With no runway or clear area in sight, the pilot said he guided the airplane to a retention pond. Follow-on/detailed examinations of the aircraft, engines, and propellers were conducted by an FAA Inspector, as well as technical representatives from Raytheon Aircraft Company, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and Hartzell Propeller Company, and no pre accident anomalies were noted with the airframe, flight controls, engines/accessories, or propellers. According to the FAA Inspector, and the technical representative from the airplane manufacturer, Raytheon Aircraft Company, the pilot was transferring fuel from the left fuel tank to the right fuel tank, and with the reduced amount of fuel in the left tank, as he performed left turns, the engine ceased operating. The Raytheon Aircraft Company representative stated that the Pilot Operating Handbook specifies the use of crossfeed for those times when the airplane is operating on a single engine.

After takeoff the pilot was unable to raise the landing gear and was presented with failure indications affecting both the lift dump and anti skid systems. Following a successful landing at Farnborough, and discussions with the aircraft's maintenance organisation, the aircraft was flown to Blackbushe for further technical investigation. After landing on Runway 26 the aircraft left the runway, struck a series of obstructions and was destroyed: there was no fire and the pilot was uninjured. The support bracket for the right main landing gear weight-on-wheels switch was found to have sustained a pre-impact failure which accounted for the indications reported by the pilot. Five recommendations have been made as a result of this investigation.

A witness at a nearby maintenance facility stated the pilot telephoned him and told him that, during engine start, one engine sputtered and abruptly stopped. The witness stated the pilot told him he wanted to fly the airplane over to have the problem looked at. A witness, who was an airline transport-rated corporate pilot, observed the airplane on takeoff roll and stated the airplane rotated "really late," using approximately 4,000 feet of runway. He stated the airplane climbed to about 400 or 500 feet, then descended in a left spin into the trees. The airplane collided with the ground and caught fire. Examination of the right engine revealed external fire damage and no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Examination of the left engine revealed external fire damage. Disassembly examination of the left engine revealed the rear side of the No. 5 piston from top to bottom was eroded away with characteristics consistent with detonation. The spark plugs displayed "normal" deposits and wear, except the No. 5 bottom plug was contaminated with a fragment of piston ring material, the No. 5 top plug had a dark sooty appearance, and the nose core of the No. 2 bottom plug was fragmented. Flow bench examination of the left fuel servo revealed no abnormalities. The fuel flow manifold diaphragm was heat-damaged. Flow bench examination of the fuel injector lines and nozzles on a serviceable fuel flow manifold revealed the lines and nozzles were free of obstruction. A review of Emergency Operating Procedures for the Aerostar 601P revealed the following: "Normal procedures do not require operation below the single engine minimum control speed, however, should this condition inadvertently arise and engine failure occur, power on the operating engine should immediately be reduced and the nose lowered to attain a speed above ... the single engine minimum control speed."

For unknown reasons, the aircraft landed hard, causing the undercarriage to be torn off. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

For unknown reasons, the aircraft landed hard at Shabunda Airport. Upon landing, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest on the runway. Nobody was injured but the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

During a night takeoff from Cairo-Intl Airport runway 23L, the right main gear collapsed. The aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the right and came to rest few hundred metres further with both right engines n°3 & 4 torn off. All seven occupants escaped uninjured.

On March 31, 2004, about 1235 eastern standard time, a Cessna 402B, N269JH, registered to and operated by Tropic Air Charters, Inc., experienced collapse of all landing gears at the Walker's Cay Airport, Walker's Cay, Bahamas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 135 on-demand, non-scheduled, international, cargo flight from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Walker's Cay Airport, Walker's Cay, Bahamas. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated about 45 minutes earlier from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The pilot stated that after landing, the right wing tipped down in what appeared to be a flat tire. He attempted to maintain control of the airplane using the rudder and was successful until the airplane rolled approximately 1,000 feet. The airplane then veered to the right and collided with a tree. The left wing and fuselage were damaged.

The single engine aircraft was dispatched in Pavlovsk with one technician and two pilots for a local crop spraying mission. While on a night approach to Pavlovsk Airfield, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low. On final, both lower wings collided with trees (10 metres high). The aircraft rolled to the left to an angle of 45° then crashed 390 metres short of runway, bursting into flames. All three occupants were killed.

The copilot was flying an ILS approach at an airspeed of Vref plus 10 knots, and the captain made visual contact with the runway about 350 feet agl. The airplane then drifted high on the glideslope, and the copilot decreased engine power. The sink rate subsequently became too great. By the time the captain called for a go-around, the airspeed had deteriorated, and the stick shaker activated. Although power was applied for the go-around, the airplane impacted the runway in a level attitude before the engines spooled up. The airplane came to rest in snow, about 20 feet off the left side of the runway, near mid-field.

The aircraft was operating a scheduled flight starting from its base at Arusha. It was to call at Lake Manyara, Klein’s Camp, Grumet and Seronera before returning to Arusha via Lake Manyara. 5H-MUA took off from Arusha at 0530 hours. It was carrying one pilot and 3 passengers. The VFR flight to Lake Manyara was uneventful and the aircraft landed at Lake Manyara at 0555 hours. Five more passengers joined the flight here and 5H-MUA subsequently took off for Klein’s Camp at 0615 hours. During initial climb, the engine failed. The pilot feathered the propeller and attempted an emergency landing on a road. But he was forced to make an evasive manoeuvre because of a truck. The aircraft lost speed and height, collided with a stone wall beside the road and came tor rest. All nine occupants were rescued, among them five were seriously injured.