Kansas

The flight was cleared for the ILS approach to runway 30. The flying pilot was the pilot-in-command. According to the cockpit voice recorder transcripts, the flying pilot had difficulty making a stabilized approach. During the initial descent the airplane entered an overspeed condition and the airplane flew through the localizer. During his attempt to re-establish the airplane on the localizer, the pilot allowed the airspeed to decrease to the point where the prestall 'stick-shaker' activated. The stick shaker continued until the airplane departed controlled flight and impacted terrain. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies were discovered during the investigation. All three occupants were killed.

The crew was performing a lateral and directional stability test. Changes from earlier tests combined new leading edge fairing, new flap setting, lower reference airspeed, and trial settings for the stall protection system (shaker and pusher). Engineers had briefed the crew data would be sufficient if the steady heading sideslip (shss) maneuver ended at a 15° sideslip, or at onset of stall warning; crew agreed to end at stall warning. During the test the capt continued past stall warning to 21° sideslip at full rudder. The airplane rolled rapidly through 360 deg° and entered a deep stall. The copilot attempted to deploy the anti-spin chute. However, all the chute system cockpit switches were not properly preset; instead of assisting recovery, the chute parted from the airplane. Full control was not regained before impact. The chute system design allowed deployment of the chute even when the hyd lock switch was in the unlocked position and the hooks clasping the chute shackle to the airframe were open. System tested ok before flight. All three crew members were killed.

The pilot and his wife departed Wichita, Kansas with a destination of Phoenix, Arizona. Eight minutes after takeoff, while in a climb to 15,000 feet, the passenger contacted departure control and communicated that she thought that her husband might be dead. While departure control was getting a pilot to assist in the situation, the passenger, who was not a pilot attempted to fly the aircraft. A witness reported a rapid series of climbs and descents just before both horizontal stabilizers and the rudder separated from the aircraft. The aircraft then entered a spin terminating with ground impact. The aircraft was consumed by a post-crash fire. Both occupants were killed.

Both aircraft departed Wichita on IFR flight plan in VFR weather conditions. They flew northwest toward their respective destinations, and cancelled IFR about 20 minutes before the accident. ATC observed the airplanes on radar, and stated they were 'dogfighting back and forth' prior to the collision. One pilot's roommate reported the two pilots, who were close friends as well as co-workers, often cancelled IFR and flew in formation if the weather was VFR. He reported the pilots often videotaped each other, and he had watched some of the tapes. He stated 'it was hard to tell from the videotape how close they were because they could use the zoom feature, etc. You could read the N numbers.' Investigation revealed brown paint transfer on the bottom of the right wing of the blue and white airplane, which had separated and was located 1.5 miles from the main wreckage. There were light colored scuff marks on the top of the left engine nacelle of the brown and white airplane. Both aircraft and both pilots were killed.

Both aircraft departed Wichita on IFR flight plan in VFR weather conditions. They flew northwest toward their respective destinations, and cancelled IFR about 20 minutes before the accident. ATC observed the airplanes on radar, and stated they were 'dogfighting back and forth' prior to the collision. One pilot's roommate reported the two pilots, who were close friends as well as co-workers, often cancelled IFR and flew in formation if the weather was VFR. He reported the pilots often videotaped each other, and he had watched some of the tapes. He stated 'it was hard to tell from the videotape how close they were because they could use the zoom feature, etc. You could read the N numbers.' Investigation revealed brown paint transfer on the bottom of the right wing of the blue and white airplane, which had separated and was located 1.5 miles from the main wreckage. There were light colored scuff marks on the top of the left engine nacelle of the brown and white airplane. Both aircraft and both pilots were killed.

The aircraft departed Garden City under extremely poor weather conditions. More than half way to Dodge City, the pilot reported engine problems to Kansas City (ARTCC). Vectors were provided to the Dodge City Airport, but the pilot did not maintain assigned headings. The aircraft headed back towards Garden City to attempt an instrument approach. Radar vectors were provided for the localizer approach. Radar indicated that the aircraft did not become stabilized on the approach. There was a significant loss of ground speed as the pilot was attempting to get established on the localizer. Radar contact was lost about 2 miles from the airport at a speed approaching stall speed for this aircraft. The aircraft crashed about 2 miles short and to the right of course. The aircraft impacted in a vertical nose down attitude on heading which indicated a turn away from the airport. The left prop was found in the feather position. No mechanical problem was discovered. The right engine appeared to be producing full power at impact. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The pilot stated that this was not a charter flight and, as such, he decided to attempt the loc 17 approach to Olathe even though the area was forecasting zero-zero conditions. According to the pilot, the last thing he remembers during the flight is bracketing the loc and reading 1,600 feet on the altimeter. Subsequently, the pilot further stated, he remembers being on the ground inside the wreckage, mitigating the injuries suffered and trying to stay warm. A post-accident invest revealed that the aircraft was to the left of the localizer course when it struck two trees 12 feet agl (1,062 feet msl), while in a 30° right bank. The aircraft made a flat 360 right pirouette over some small trees, tearing off the left wing before impacting the ground and sliding approximately 600 feet. A post-crash fire erupted from the right wing tank but it extinguished itself. A dot FAA operational flight test found the localizer to be within limits. A leak check of the aircraft static system and a bench check of both altimeters were satisfactory.

The right main landing gear downlock pin retracted just before or during touchdown. The airplane touched down 21 feet short of the runway. It traveled that 21 feet, traveled the full length of the 6999- foot runway, then traveled another one-fourth of a mile and stopped on a golf course. No pre-touchdown mechanical, hydraulic or electrical problems could be found. All four occupants escaped uninjured.