19981013028759A

Acft crashed into a house on church road shortly after takeoff, one POB suffered fatal inj and the other POB has seriously injuries, acft has unknown damage. (.19)October 13, 1998, at 0700 eastern daylight time, N736KL, a Cessna R172K, was destroyed when it collided with a residence while attempting to land at the Freeway Airport, bowie, Maryland. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the passenger was seriously injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The observation flight was conducted under 14 CFR part 91. The flight originated at 0600, at gaithersburg, Maryland. The intended destination was bowie, Maryland. The pilot was scheduled to fly the early morning traffic watch with a traffic reporter, for about 3 hours, to provide coverage in the washington/virginia area. The reporter was unable to provide his first traffic update due to the ground fog. A witness about a 1/4 mile from the accident site, said he heard an airplane circle overhead, but he was unable to see it in the dense fog. Shortly thereafter,through the broken clouds, he saw a blue and white airplane, followed by an engine surge, and then he heard an impact. The airplane struck the patio of a residence. The airplane and the rear section of the residence was destroyed as a result of the collision and post-crash fire. One of the occupants in the house said that she was getting ready for work. She said that she looked outside about an hour prior to the impact, and the fog was below the tree line. Shortly thereafter, she heard what appeared to be an airplane heading straight at her. She said the airplane struck the patio cover, and then an explosion followed. She said the fire was coming towards her and she was able to exit the house with the family pets. A helicopter pilot who was in the area of the Freeway Airport reporting traffic, said that the accident airplane pilot reported that he was going to land due to the fog. The helicopter pilot asked the pilot what the weather was like at college park, and the pilot responded that it was fogged in as well. The helicopter pilot said that was the last radio communication he had with the accident airplane pilot. The helicopter pilot said he flew to college park, and he was unable to land so he returned to Freeway. On his return, the ceiling was about 300 feet, and there was "no forward visibility." Preliminary examination of the accident site revealed that the wreckage was oriented on a magnetic heading of 040 degrees, and came to rest 276 feet east of runway 36. The engine was buried in a 2 foot crater. The cockpit, all flight instruments, fuselage and left hand stabilizer were destoryed by fire. The inboard sections of the left and right wings also exhibited evidence of fire damage. Preliminary examination of the airplane at the accident site did not disclose any evidence of mechanical malfunction with the airplane of engine. According to federal aviation administration (FAA) records, the pilot reported over 750 hours of total flight experience when he applied for a second class medical certificate issued on January 30, 1998. According to an FAA inspector, a review of air traffic records revealed that there was no radio communication with the accident airplane. According to the 0651 local weather observation from dulles airport, the ceiling was 100 feet; visibility 1/4 mile in fog; temperature 55 degrees fahrenheit (f); and dew point 55 f. (.4)the pilot was scheduled to fly the early morning traffic watch with a traffic reporter, for about 3 hours, to provide coverage in the washington/virginia area. The reporter said they departed about 6:00 a.m. and that he was unable to provide his first traffic update due to the ground fog. A witness about a 1/4 mile from the accident site, said he heard an airplane circle overhead, but he was unable to see it through the dense fog. Shortly thereafter, through the broken clouds, he saw a blue and white airplane, followed by an engine surge, and then he heard an impact. The airplane struck the patio of a residence. The airplane and the rear section of the residence was destroyed as a result of the collision and post-crash fire. A helicopter pilot who was also reporting traffic said that the ceiling was about 300 feet and there was no forward visibility. The traffic reporter in the accident airplane said that they were about 400 feet, and they tried to land, but the pilot added power with 40 degree of flaps. He said the airplane stalled and he heard the pilot say, 'oh no.' examination of the engine and airframe did not disclose any evidence of mechanical malfunction. (-23) the a/c had departed the montgomery county airport, gaithersburg, MD for the morning traffic report flight. The pilot encountered ground fog and attempted to land at the Freeway Airport, Mitchellville, MD. Witnesses reported that the pilot made two attempts to land. On the second attempt, the pilot encountered instrument flight conditions and lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft entered a descending left turn and struck a house on property adjacent to the airport. The a/c then burned, destroying the a/c and damaging the house.