20041125033799A

(-23) On November 25, 2004, a Cessna 411, operated by a private pilot crashed shortly after takeoff approximately one mile from the departure end of runway 25 at the Corona airport. The pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The accident was witnessed by two individuals. The first witness stated that she observed the pilot of the Cessna in the fuel pit experience difficulties starting the left engine after refueling the aircraft. She stated that as she observed the Cessna lift off, she saw smoke coming from the right engine, then both engines. She said she observed the aircraft yaw left and right then the smoke stopped coming from the right engine, and then shortly thereafter stopped coming from the left engine. She said she observed the aircraft enter a steep right bank and the nose of the aircraft fall below the horizon towards the ground. The second witness, an aviation safety inspector, stated that while driving by the airport he observed the aircraft approximately three to four hundred feet above the ground with the right wing perpendicular to the ground. He said the aircraft continued to roll to the right as it descended in a nose down attitude and disappeared behind terrain that was blocking his view. He said he did not observe any smoke coming from the engines or hear any engine noise. While at the accident scene I received a call from an individual that stated that he shared hangar space with the pilot of the Cessna and had some information he wanted to share regarding the aircraft. The individual stated that when the pilot purchased the aircraft the main fuel tanks were inoperative and that the pilot had been flying the aircraft on the tip tanks only. He stated that the pilot had purchased new main tanks for the aircraft and that he had observed the pilot and his female companion changing the main fuel tanks the previous week. He stated that on the day before the accident he observed the pilot and his female companion working on the left engine attempting to troubleshoot a fuel problem. The individual stated that the pilot told him that he had experienced an in flight engine failure the previous Saturday and was attempting to determine the cause. The individual stated that the pilot told him that during his training in the aircraft his instructor had told him that if you experience an engine failure in the Cessna 411, you must first reduce the power on both engines before attempting to identify the failed engine. The pilot said his instructor trained him not to apply full power at the onset of an engine failure because the Cessna 411 has a small rudder and directional control was a serious problem with the aircraft.