19990315002469A

On March 15,1999, about 1237 eastern standard time, a Beech BE-76, N6638C, was destroyed when it impacted the terrain while on approach to the Allegheny County Airport (agc), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot and one passenger received fatal injuries, two passengers were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was fild for the personal cross country flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. The flight originated from the clayton county-tara field (4A7), hampton, Georgia. The pilot flew the VOR runway 5 approach. The tower controller reported that the airplane was insight and radioed the winds with clearance to land on runway 31. The pilot acknowledged the controller, and a short time later requested runway 28. No further statements were heard from the pilot, and when the controller looked for the airplane, he could no longer see it. Witnesses near the accident site reported that they did not hear any engine noises emanating from the airplane. The initial impact point was near the top of a 60 feet tall tree. Telephone and power lines, located to the south, were struck prior to ground impact. The ai rplane came to rest on a residential street, and a fire erupted outboard of the left engine. The wreckage was examined at the accident site on March 16, 1999. The examination revealed that all major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene, and that the airplane came to rest upright, on an approximate heading of 300 degrees, at a ground elevation of about 1,050 feet above mean sea level (MSL). The outboard portion of the left wing remained in the tree, located about 80 feet north of the wreckage. Debris from the airplane and limbs from the tree were scattered to the south/southwest. The nose landing gear was found 96 feet southwest of the wreckage, inside a house surrounded by broken glass and 10 feet from a broken window. Tree limbs, telephone and power lines, were underneath the wreckage as it rested in the street. Rescue personnel reported that they cut open the top of the fuselage. The inboard portion of the left wing and its engine was detached from the fuselage and angled up about 30 degrees, resting on the left landing gear underneath and the trailing edge of the wing. The remainder of the wreckage laid flat, with upward crushing underneath the fuselage andwings. After documentation of the cockpit switches, the wreckage was cut into three pieces, the empennage, the left wing, and the fuselage with the right wing attached. The wreckage was loaded and transported to the rostraver airport (P53), monongahela, pensylvania, where he examination was completed on March 17, 1999. Both engines exhibited valve tain continuity and thumb compression was obtained from all cylinders. The crank shafts were rotated and sparks were obtained from the magnetos. No fuel was found in the fuel lines on the right engine, and a few drops were drained from the left engine. The right propeller blades displayed no leading edge damage, no chord-wise scratching, and one blade was bent aft about mid-span. The left propeller blades displayed little leading edge damage, little chord-wise scratching, and one blade was also bent aft about mid-span. Flight control continuity was traced throughout the airframe, the landing gear were down, and the flaps were found in the up position. A copy of the fuel receipt was obtained from the fixed base operator at 4A7. It indicated that 65.6 gallons of 100 low lead aviation gasoline were used to "top-off" N6638C, on March 14, 1999. A paper found inside the wreckage indicated the route from 4A7 to agc, with a total distance of 494 miles. The flight plan was activated after departure, about 0802, and was flown at 9,000 feet MSL. The forecast winds aloft for 9,000 feet indicated winds from the north about 40 knots and a temperature of minus 10 degrees centigrade/14 degrees fahrenheit. The cabin heater switch was found in the "on" position. Totaling the weights of the pilot, the 3 passengers, and the baggage found onboard at the accident site, the airplane's gross weight at take off was estimated to be about 4,337 pounds, with a center of gravity at 113.2 inches. The pilot's operating handbook (POH) stated that the maximum gross weight at take off was 3,900 pounds with a center of gravity between 110.6 inches and 117.5 inches. The wreckage was released to a representative of the insurance company on March 17, 1999. (-23) preliminary investigation indicates that fuel exhaustion may have contributed to the aircraft crashing one and one half miles to the southeast of the Allegheny County Airport.