20011121035329A

(.19) On November 21, 2001, about 1232 eastern standard time, a Beech 95-B55, N3847Q, was destroyed after impacting the water while descending to Falmouth airpark (5B6), Falmouth, Massachusetts. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. The flight had originated from the lawrence municipal airport (lwm), lawrence, Massachusetts. According to a federal aviation administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane departed lawrence at 1156, and proceeded east to circumnavigate the "enhanced class b airspace" around boston. The pilot contacted boston approach control and requested radar advisories to Falmouth, at 3,500 feet. The flight then proceeded south, towards otis air national guard base, and the pilot was instructed to contact cape approach control. Upon contacting cape approach control, the pilot requested a descent in preparation for landing at Falmouth. At 1229, cape approach control instructed the pilot to "squawk 1200 and switch to advisory frequency." The pilot did not acknowledge the instruction. No further radio transmissions were received from the accident airplane. The airplane wreckage was located in 11 feet of water, about 5 miles south of Falmouth by the united states coast guard. Review of radar data revealed that the airplane was descending at a rate of about 300 feet per minute, on a heading of about 190 degrees. The average groundspeed of the airplane during the descent was about 163 knots. A witness was flying about two miles south of the airport, and was heading eastbound to make a left turn for the traffic pattern. He stated that cape approach control advised that there was a "baron, inbound from the north for landing at Falmouth". The witness then switched to the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), and looked to the north and east for the airplane. He believed that he heard the accident airplane transmitting on the CTAF frequency, and was "stepped on" by another pilot transmitting at the same time. The witness then observed the accident airplane heading "due south", flying straight and level, but "very low, almost at the water level." The accident airplane approached from the left, and flew "very fast" under the nose of the witness's airplane. The accident airplane then impacted the water, spun clockwise and came to rest heading in a northwest direction. The accident airplane sank within about one minute. The witness added that he could not tell the angle of the airplane at impact, or the operating conditions of the engines, because the airplane was "moving so quickly." A second witness, who was in his kitchen around 1225, heard an "exceptionally loud" airplane fly over his house. He went to the back window and saw the airplane flying southbound 100 feet above the water. He could not see the airplane impact the water; however, he observed the airplane flying straight and level until he lost sight of it. The witness added that he heard the engines "running normally" and that they never sputtered or quit. He reported they sounded similar to "takeoff power," as he was used to hearing when he worked at the hyannis airport. A third witness stated that he was traveling westbound over the green pond inlet bridge when he noticed an airplane flying southbound at 150-300 feet above the ground. About 10-15 seconds later, he observed one small splash in the water, followed by a much larger splash, and then he observed an airplane's tail protruding from the surface of the water. The witness added that he observed the airplane flying straight-and-level, with no fluctuation of attitude. He noticed no "erratic movements" of the airplane, and commented that the airplane "appeared to be on autopilot," in a level descent, at a high rate of speed, with both engines running normally. Coast guard personnel recovered the first debris from the airplane about an hour after the accident. The debris included the pilot's flight bag and the forward pilot seats. On November 23, the main wreckage was raised from the water by the empennage section. The tail cone with horizontal stabilizer, elevator, and the rudder remained attached to the airplane by control cables. The left and right wings remained attached to the main fuselage. The remaining debris included the forward cockpit area, which was separated from the main fuselage into 4 major sections. The left engine, and the left propeller assembly, was also recovered and loaded onto the barge. The airplane's right engine, right propeller assembly, cabin heater, emergency locator transmitter (ELT), and the hobbs meter were not recovered. The recovered wreckage was then towed to shore. Examination of the wreckage on the barge revealed that control cable continuity for the rudder, elevator, and trim surfaces located on the tail section of the airplane were confirmed to the cockpit area. Control cable continuity for the left wing aileron and trim tab, and the rightwing aileron, were also confirmed to the cockpit area. The cabin heater control switch was selected to the "heat" position. When the wing sections were removed from the main fuselage, fuel was observed draining from the bladders. The main wreckage was then transported to a hanger at the plymouth municipal airport, plymouth, Massachusetts, for further examination. Examination of the wreckage on November 24 revealed that the landing gear was confirmed retracted by verifying the landing gear actuator and landing gear selector settings. The left and right wing flap positions were also determined to be retracted by their position on the wing and the cockpit flap selector. The mechanical rudder trim indicator in the cockpit was aligned with the 4 degrees nose-left position. The aileron trim indicator in the cockpit was aligned with an approximate 5 degrees left position. The elevator trim indicator in the cockpit was aligned with an approximate 7-degree nose-high position. The fuel pump was removed from the engine, prior to rotating the engine crankshaft, and operated normally when the pumps drive shaft was rotated. When the fuel manifold was disassembled, its screen was absent of debris, and fuel was observed in the unit. The fuel control valve was free in movement, and the fuel screen was absent of debris. When the left engine was rotated by hand, compression was observed and valve train continuity was confirmed to all six cylinders. The airplane had last been refueled at a fixed base operator at lawrence, on November 20, 2001, with 91 gallons of 100 low lead aviation grade gasoline. The pilot held a commercial pilots certificate with ratings for airplane single engine and multi-engine land, instrument airplane ratings. His most recent application for a FAA third class medical certificate was on April 2001. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight, near 41 degrees, 31 minutes, 20 seconds north latitude, and 70 degrees, 33 minutes, 52 seconds west longitude. The recorded weather from a nearby airport at 1255 was, variable winds at 5 knots, clear skies, and an altimeter setting of 30.04 inches of mercury. The airplane was equipped with an autopilot. The "on/off" status of the unit was not determined. The autopilot annunciator panel and the in-dash mounted global positioning system were retained for further examination. (-23) david r. burke, pilot-in-command of N3847Q was on a VFR flight to Falmouth airpark (5B6), Falmouth, MA from lawrence (lwm) ma. He was told to squawk 1200 and change to advisory frequency (no response) continued on a shoutherly heading and crashed into ocean approximately 2-3 miles south of Falmouth, MA.