20020530010679A

(.19) On may 30, 2002, about 1850 eastern daylight time, a Cessna A185F, N1577B, impacted terrain in pleasant mount, Pennsylvania. The airplane was destroyed. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the business flight that originated from dekalb county airport (07C), auburn, Indiana. The flight was conducted on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan under 14 CFR part 91. The pilot was returning from a trip to naper aero club airport (LL10), naperville, Illinois. He departed on may 30, 2002, and received a weather briefing prior to departure. En route, he made a stop at auburn. His planned destination was oxford-waterbury airport (oxc), oxford, Connecticut. After departure from 07C, the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested to air-file an IFR flight plan to oxford. The airplane was at 13,000 feet when control was transferred from cleveland air route traffic control center (ARTCC) to new york ARTCC. About 1836, the airplane was descended to 11,000 at the pilot's request. About 1846, control of the airplane was transferred to the boston ARTCC. At 1848:52, the pilot requested to deviate around weather. The request was approved, and the controller advised the pilot to report back on course. No further transmissions were received from the pilot, and the airplane disappeared from the controller's radar scope. Three witnesses in the pleasant mount area, observed the airplane, descending in a nose down attitude, traveling to the northwest. The witnesses could hear the engine and agreed that the airplane was traveling fast. The witnesses observed the airplane come apart in the air, while descending. All of the witnesses agreed there were clouds and weather in the area. None reported a strong wind or violent weather at their location. In addition, two of the witnesses did not report any smoke, vapors or fire emitting from the airplane. Another witness reported hearing what he described as a "loud wind noise." He added that he could not hear the engine. The airplane came to rest in an open pasture, in a fragmented condition, with debris scattered along a heading of 330 degrees. The first debris field included pieces of plexiglass, sections of both wings, and the tail surfaces. None of the items had leading edge impact damage, nor were they splattered or covered with mud. Thelength of the debris field, from first item found, to the impact crater was about 1,033 feet. The main impact crater was 20 feet wide, 15 feet long, and had a depth of about 2 1/2 feet. Small pieces of debris were found in the crater. One propeller blade was lodged in the mud on the left side of the crater. The second debris field started with the impact crater, and included the airplane fuselage, engine, propeller, and small items from the airplane. All observed items were covered with varying amounts of mud. The length of this debris field was about 486 feet. The fuselage was located about 180 feet beyond the impact crater. The engine, and all aerodynamic surfaces, and control surfaces had separated from the airplane, except for the lower 1/3 of the rudder. The cabin was crushed and distorted. The engine sump had separated from the engine and remained with the fuselage structure. The engine was found about 30 feet to the left of the main wreckage, and about 185 feet from the impact crater. The top of the engine was impacted with mud. Impact damage prevented rotation of the crankshaft. A borescope examination of all cylinders revealed no holes in the pistons and all valves in place. The engine accessory section was fragmented, and separated from the rear of the engine. Both magnetos had received impact damage and could not be tested. The exhaust manifold was crushed with malleable bending. Rotational scoring was found on the inside of the turbocharger case. In addition, some of the blades on the compressor side of the turbocharger were found with bending in the opposite direction of rotation. The shear shaft to the vacuum pump, and all vacuum pump vanes were intact. The propeller had separated from the crankshaft hub. However, the bolts were still in place on the hub. The separated propeller blade had "s" bending on the leading and trailing edges. One other propeller blade was missing its tip. The left and right horizontal stabilizers exhibited downward bending, and partial separation at the mid-span splice. All bends on spars were in a downward direction. Both wings had fragmented, with the largest pieces being the inboard section to the mid-wing splice. All observed fractures on spars were in a down, or down and aft direction. Both ends of the main spar center section carry through were bent in a down and aft direction. The fracture breaks on the lift struts at the wing attach point were bright and granular in appearance. The 1854 observation at wilkes-barre/scranton international airport (avp), wilkes-barre/scranton, Pennsylvania, located 30 nautical from the accident site on a magnetic heading of 231 degrees, recorded a ceiling of 5,000 feet overcast, visibility 10 statue miles, and winds from 210 degrees, at 4 knots. Three gyroscopic flight instruments were retained for further examination. According to records from the federal aviation administration (FAA), the pilot held an instrument rating, and his total flight experience was 6,800 hours at his last airman medical application dated January 19, 2001. (-23) on may 30, 2002, about 1850 eastern daylight time, a Cessna A185F, N1577B, impacted terrain in pleasant mount, PA. The airplane was destroyed. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the business flight that originated from dekalb county airport (07C), auburn, Indiana. The flight was conducted on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan under 14 CFR part 91. Pilot log books are not available. If they become available, an amendment to block 31 will be made.