20140429005079A

ON APRIL 29, 2014, AT OR ABOUT 1345 EDT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, HOLDER OF COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WHILE ACTING AS PILOT IN COMMAND AND SOLE MANIPULATOR OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS OF N6756X, A BEECHCRAFT DUCHESS (BE-76), IMPACTED THE GROUND IN THE GRASS BORDERED BY RUNWAY 10R, TAXIWAY A, A3, AND A4, AT THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (FPR), FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA, SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGING THE AIRPLANE. TWO PILOTS WERE ABOARD THE AIRPLANE, NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

THE FLIGHT WAS AN AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE INSTRUCTOR TRAINING FLIGHT. IN THE PRACTICE AREA AT AN ALTITUDE OF OR ABOUT 5,500 FEET MSL DRAG DEMONSTRATIONS WERE ACCOMPLISHED WHICH VALIDATED AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE WITH LANDING GEAR UP AND LANDING GEAR DOWN ALONG WITH OTHER ADDITIONAL CONFIGURATIONS DEMONSTRATED. THE AIRPLANE INDICATED A CLIMB RATE OF 330 FPM WITH THE GEAR UP AND A DESCENT OF 300 FPM WITH THE GEAR DOWN. AN INFLIGHT SHUTDOWN OF THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS ALSO ACCOMPLISHED. INFLIGHT RESTART ATTEMPTS OF THE RIGHT ENGINE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE AIRPLANE WAS FLOWN BACK TO FRP AND ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN ON A LEFT BASE TO RUNWAY 14 AT OR ABOUT 1,500 MSL AND 2 MILES FROM THE RUNWAY.

THE AIRMAN STATED THAT AFTER LOWERING THE LANDING GEAR THE AIRPLANE DEVELOPED AN UNACCEPTABLE RATE OF DESCENT. THE LANDING GEAR WAS RETRACTED UNTIL THE AIRPLANE WAS RETURNED TO A NORMAL APPROACH. ONCE THE AIRPLANE WAS RETURNED TO A NORMAL APPROACH THE LANDING GEAR WAS AGAIN EXTENDED. THE AIRMAN STATED THAT THE DESCENT RATE WAS AGAIN GREATER THAN THAT REQUIRED TO MAKE RUNWAY 14 SO A DECISION WAS MADE TO SET THE AIRPLANE DOWN IN THE GRASS SOUTH OF RUNWAY 10R.

BASED ON IMPACT MARKS IN THE GRASS THE AIRPLANE HIT THE GROUND IN A RIGHT WING LOW ATTITUDE WITH THE RIGHT WING IMPACTING THE GROUND FIRST FOLLOWED BY THE NOSE. THE RIGHT WING SPAR WAS BENT AFT OUTBOARD OF THE FUEL TANK AND THE NOSE LANDING GEAR FAILED AND DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT AS A RESULT OF THE IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT TRAVELED A SHORT DISTANCE AND CAME TO A STOP ON AN EMBANKMENT SHORT OF TAXIWAY A. THE TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED AFTER INITIAL IMPACT IS ESTIMATED TO BE LESS THAN 250 FEET. SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE INCLUDES BUT, MAY NOT BE LIMITED TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT WINGS, LEFT AND RIGHT ENGINES AND NACELLES, FUSELAGE, WINDSHIELD, AILERONS, AND LANDING GEAR.

A REVIEW OF THE AIRMAN?S RECORDS INDICATES THAT THE AIRMAN WAS CURRENT AND QUALIFIED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.

A REVIEW OF THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE RECORDS INDICATES THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS AIRWORTHY AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. INSPECTION OF THE POST-ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT INDICATES THAT THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS FEATHERED AND THE LEFT ENGINE WAS PRODUCING POWER. LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN AND FLAPS WERE UP. FUEL SAMPLES WERE TAKEN AND WERE FOUND TO BE OF GOOD QUALITY. FUEL QUANTITY INDICATIONS AND VISUAL INSPECTION INDICATES THAT THE FUEL TANKS WERE APPROXIMATELY ¾ FULL. ENGINE OIL QUANTITIES WERE APPROPRIATE. WEIGHT AND BALANCE CALCULATIONS INDICATE THE AIRPLANE WAS WITHIN LIMITATIONS. PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF CLIMBING AT 300 FEET PER MINUTE ON ONE ENGINE WITH THE GEAR AND FLAPS UP. SINGLE ENGINE CLIMB PERFORMANCE WAS VALIDATED DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT IN THE PRACTICE AREA BY CONDUCTING A DRAG DEMONSTRATION.

THE METAR AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WAS: FPR 291653Z 13019G28KT 10SM CLR 31/22 A2996 RMK AO2 PKWND 13028/1648 SLP144 T03060222 =. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE WIND, WHICH WAS GENERALLY ALIGNED WITH THE LANDING RUNWAY, WEATHER IS NOT CONSIDERED TO BE A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT. THE EFFECT OF THE WIND ON THE AIRPLANE?S ARRIVAL WOULD HAVE REQUIRED THE AIRPLANE MAINTAIN A LESSER DESCENT RATE AS COMPARED TO A ZERO WIND CONDITION. THIS SHALLOWER THAN NORMAL DESCENT REQUIREMENT DUE TO A HEADWIND SHOULD NOT HAVE PREVENTED THE AIRPLANE FROM FLYING THE DISTANCE REQUIRED TO LAND ON THE DESIRED RUNWAY.

CONTINUED IN BLOCK 43.