20020412007029A

(.19) On April 12, 2002, at 2135 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N82284, was destroyed after impacting trees then terrain while executing the ils/dme rwy 36 approach into waterbury-Oxford airport (oxc), Oxford, Connecticut. There was a post-impact fire. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at the grand strand airport (cre), north myrtle beach, south carolina, about 1800. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. Preliminary examination of air traffic control (ATC) communications revealed that the pilot was cleared for the ils/dme rwy 36 approach at 2116. At 2135, ATC terminated radar services and advised the pilot that a change in radio frequency was approved. A witness was standing in his driveway facing the waterbury-Oxford airport, when heard an airplane approaching. He said it was a few minutes past 2100. In a written statement, he said: "I heard a plane coming, it sounded off course. When I looked up, it flew over my house about 40-50 feet above the trees. I build engines, and I thought it sounded like it was running correctly. "It continued flying normally as if to land. It continued at the same altitude, then I saw his headlights light up the tree tops. It started to light up the woods, then it crashed. This all seemed to happen in about 10 or 15 seconds." A second witness was watching television in his home when he heard the sound of a twin engine airplane coming from the east. In a written statement, he said: "the rpms sounded higher than those that normally fly by my residence. The high rpms lasted about (10) ten seconds, when all of a sudden they dropped to a real low RPM. The engines were still running. The low rpms lasted (3) three to (4) seconds. "The rpms then climbed drastically even higher than what I originally heard. They lasted for (3) three to (4) four seconds, then the rpms dropped slightly and then the aircraft was out of hearing range or it had banked off or changed direction. Normally the sound of the plane drifts off, but this changed drastically." A third witness was in her home, located directly across the street from the accident site. In a written statement, she said: "tonight, at approximately 9:00 p.m., I was sitting in the living room of my home watching amovie with my family. We heard an airplane overhead louder than normal. Almost immediately we heard a loud boom and saw an orange glow from the yard. My husband [name], ran outside and saw the woods on fire and told me to call 911." During an interview, the third witness said that she had never heard any airplane that loud, or fly so low over her home before. She described the sound of the airplane "as a motorcycle going full throttle overhead at a steady constant rate." A fourth witness, was standing outside of his office of employment located at the waterbury-Oxford airport, when he heard the airplane. In a written statement, he said: "I heard a jet engine revving loud. This revving sounded close in the area. The revving started to get faster (higher) then I heard a crash. The sound of the revving stopped once I heard the crash...I did not see this plane, I only heard this. I did not hear any other noises at this time only the engine revving, then it got higher (the revving), then I heard a crash." The accident occurred during the hours of darkness approximately 41 degrees, 28 minutes north latitude, and 73 degrees, 7 minutes west longitude. The airplane wreckage was examined at the site on April 13-14, 2002. All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene. The airplane came to rest upright embedded in brush and mud on an approximate heading of 120 degrees, at a ground elevation of approximately 650 feet mean sea level (MSL), about 2,000 feet southeast of runway 36. Initial tree impact scars started approximately 176 feet from the main wreckage, and a 5-10 foot wide swath was cut through the trees. Tree impact scars became progressively lower on the trees in the direction of the wreckage, which was in a general direction of 295 degrees. Found along the wreckage path were several cut tree branches. Examination of the tree branches revealed they were cut at approximately 45 degree angles at the beginning of the wreckage path and approximately 80 degree angles closer to the main wreckage. The surface of these cuts exhibited black paint transfer marks. Also found along the wreckage path were the left aileron, left fuel tank, outboard section of the left wing, right engine propeller assembly, and right main landing gear. The cockpit, fuselage, and empennage, were consumed by fire. The right wing remained attached to the fuselage, and exhibited fire and impact damage. The fuel tank had melted, the aileron had separated, and the flap was partially attached and bent under the fuselage. The left wing main spar remained attached to the fuselage at the wing root. However, the wing's structure had fragmented and separated due to impact damage. The tail control surfaces exhibited fire and impact damage, and remained attached to the fuselage by control cables. Control cable continuity was established for all flight control surfaces from the control surface to the cockpit. Examination of the flap handle and flap chain mechanism revealed that the flaps were extended 10 degrees. The rudder trim wheel and actuator were both found in the full right position. However, the cables had severed through approximately 1-1.5 inches of airframe structure in the tail. The pitch trim actuator was found set to 1/2 degree nose down. The right main landing gear and nose wheel had separated and were found under the fuselage. The nose wheel actuator was found extended. Both wing fuel filters were found intact. The left wing filter bowl was empty. The filter was exposed to smoke, but was absent of debris. The right wing filter was disassembled andthe bowl was filled with light blue fuel. The filter was absent of debris. The throttle, propeller, and mixture controls were all found in the full forward position. The altimeter had separated from the airplane and was found fragmented. The face plate of the unit, absent of the needles, was found set to 30.37 inches hg. The airspeed indicator and turn coordinator had separated from the airplane. The airspeed indicator read 165 knots, and the miniature airplane in the turn coordinator was inverted with a 45 degree left wing down attitude, and the inclinometer was broken. The directional gyro was also found separated from the fuselage, and exhibited impact damage to the face plate. The unit was disassembled and the gyro housing was removed and examined. The examination revealed that the gyro was intact, and there was no signs of rotational contact found on the interior of the housing. The right engine had separated from the airframe and came to rest behind the right wing. The engine sustained impact damage, and was not exposed to fire or heat damage. The fuel pump had separated from the engine, but the coupler was intact. The interior section of the vacuum pump had separated from the engine and was not located. The base of the vacuum remained attached to the engine, and the coupler was intact. Both magnetos had separated from the right engine. Spark was produced to all leads when manually rotated. The top spark plugs were removed and appeared gray in color. The right engine fuel manifold valve was intact. When the valve was disassembled, fuel was observed in the chamber, the diaphragm was intact, and the screen was absent of debris. Engine continuity and compression were established to each cylinder by manual rotation of the propeller flange. During the compression check, valve train continuity was established to all but the #5 cylinder due to impact damage. The vacuum pump coupler was also observed to turn. The turbocharger remained attached to the engine by an oil return cable. The compressor housing had started to separate from the housing, and was full of mud. The impeller turned freely, and few of the blades were bent in the direction opposite of rotation. The right propeller assembly had separated from the engine and was located along the wreckage path. All three blades remained attached, but were loose in the hub. Examination of the propeller hub mounting bolts revealed that they were stripped, and three holes were elongated against the direction of rotation. One blade exhibited s-bending, leading edge damage, and chordwise scratching. The second blade was bent aft and twisted along the outboard section of the blade. A trailing edge section of the blade's tip was missing. The blade also exhibited leading edge damage and chordwise scratching. The third blade exhibited s-bending, leading edge damage and chordwise scratching. The outboard section of the blade was bent forward and the tip of the blade was missing. The left engine was laying inverted inside the fuselage. The engine had sustained extensive impact and fire damage. The oil sump had partially melted away, and sections of the sump had dropped down into the interior section of the engine. A section of the propeller hub was still attached to the flange, which was also bent. The induction and throttle body sustained extensive heat damage. The top section of the fuel manifold valve screen had melted away, and the remaining section of the diaphragm was pealed from its seat. The fuel screen was coated with a small amount of ash. Both magnetos had separated from the left engine,and along with their respective harnesses, had sustained extensive heat damage. The magnetos could not be examined due to this damage. The vacuum pump had separated from the engine, but the coupler remained intact. The fuel pump and coupler had also separated from the engine, but the coupler was located along wreckage path and was intact. The top six spark plugs were removed and appeared oil soaked. The #1 and #2 plugs were filled with oil and mud. The engine could only be rotated about 45 degrees. When the engine was rotated, the vacuum pump coupler turned, and movement was observed to the accessory drive gears, and #3 cylinder valves. The turbocharger had separated from the engine and sustained fire damage. The compressor housing and impeller had melted away. The impeller could not be rotated. The left engine propeller assembly was found fragmented laying under the fuselage. The hub was fractured and one blade remained attached. The second blade had separated and embedded itself in the mud. The third blade was not located. The blade that remained in the hub was bent aft, exhibited twisting, leading edge and trailing edge damage. The second blade was bent forward, exhibited s-bending, chordwise scratching, and leading edge damage. Examination of fuel records revealed that the pilot filled the airplane with 62.9 gallons of 100 ll fuel in north myrtle beach, on April 12, 2002, at 1703. According to the fuel vendor, the airplane was "filled completely" at the time of this servicing. On April 13, 2002, the FAA conducted a flight test inspection of the ils/dme rwy 36 approach system. Upon completion of the flight test, the approach system was put back into service. Runway 36 was a 5,000 foot long and 100 foot wide asphalt runway equipped with a 4-light precision approach path indicator (PAPI) system. The runway was also equipped with high intensity runway lights (hirl) and runway end identifier lights (REIL). The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land, multi engine land, and instrument airplane. His most recent federal aviation administration (FAA) third class medical was issued on may 12, 2000. At that time he reported 725 total flight hours. Weather reported at the waterbury-Oxford airport at 2100 included wind from 200 degrees at 8 knots, visibility 1 3/4 miles, ceiling 300 feet overcast, temperature 54 degrees f, dewpoint 51 degrees f, and altimeter setting 30.38 inches hg. Weather reported at the waterbury-Oxford airport at 2120 included wind from 210 degrees at 5 knots gusting to 15 knots, visibility 2 1/2 miles, ceiling 300 feet overcast, temperature 54 degrees f, dewpoint 51 degrees f, and altimeter setting 30.38 inches hg. Weather reported at the waterbury-Oxford airport at 2140 included wind from 210 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 3 miles, ceiling 200 feet overcast, temperature 54 degrees f, dewpoint 51 degrees f, and altimeter setting 30.37 inches hg. (-23) on April 12, 2002, at approximately 2135 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N82284, was destroyed after impacting trees then terrain while executing the ils/dme rwy 36 approach into waterbury-Oxford airport (oxc), Oxford, CT. There was a post-impact fire. The certified private pilot was fatally injured. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at the grand strand airport (cre), north myrtle beach, south carolina, about 1800. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. Preliminary examin ation of air traffic control (ATC) communications revealed that the pilot was cleared for the ils/dme rwy 36 approach at 2116. At 2135, ATC terminated radar services and advised the pilot that a change in radio frequency was approved. (Continued on next page). See NTSB # IAD02FA043