20221021016689A

ON OCTOBER 21, 2022, ABOUT 1845 EDT, A BEECH A24R, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND COMMERCIAL- RATED PILOT WERE FATALLY INJURED.

PRIOR TO DEPARTURE A WITNESS, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, INDICATED THAT SHE WAS STILL AT THE AIRPORT AT 1715 HRS AND BEFORE THE FLIGHT OF THE SIERRA (^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^) SHE HAD TALKED WITH BOTH PILOTS. THEY ORIGINALLY WERE SCHEDULED TO FLY A DIFFERENT AIRPLANE (PIPER WARRIOR) BUT WHEN THEY LEARNED THE SIERRA’S ANNUAL INSPECTION HAD BEEN COMPLETED AND THE AIRPLANE WAS AVAILABLE, THEY FLIPPED A COIN TO DECIDE WHICH AIRPLANE TO FLY. THE SIERRA WAS THE ONE THAT WAS DETERMINED BY THE COIN TOSS. SHE ALSO INDICATED THAT SIERRA HAD RECENTLY HAD AN ANNUAL INSPECTION CONDUCTED AFTER THE AIRPLANE SAT IDLE FOR A YEAR IN A HANGAR AT THE AIRPORT. THE AIRPLANE AIRFRAME LOGBOOK INDICATES THAT TIMOTHY PRICE, A CERTIFICATED AIRFRAME & POWERPLANT MECHANIC, WITH A CURRENT INSPECTION AUTHORIZATION, SIGNED OFF THE AIRPLANE ANNUAL INSPECTION ON 19 OCTOBER 2022.

AT 1756 HRS THE AIRPLANE TAXIED TO THE AIRPORT FUEL FARM WHERE 24.380 GALLONS OF 100 LOW-LEAD FUEL WERE PURCHASED. FOLLOWING FUEL PURCHASE, A WITNESS NOTED THE AIRPLANE TAXI TO THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 02.

ACCORDING TO RECORDED AUDIO FROM THE COMMON TRAFFIC ADVISORY FREQUENCY (CTAF), ABOUT1843 EDT, AN OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE CALLED ON THE FREQUENCY THAT THE FLIGHT WAS DEPARTING FROM RUNWAY 02 AND WOULD REMAIN IN THE AIRPORT TRAFFIC PATTERN.

VIDEO FROM KEEN AIRPORT DEPICTED THE AIRPLANE BEING AT THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 02 AND BEGINNING THE TAKEOFF ROLL. ACCORDING TO TWO OF THE WITNESSES WHO WERE LOCATED ON THE AIRPORT (BOTH OF WHOM ARE PILOTS AND ONE ALSO AN A&P MECHANIC), THE SUBJECT AIRPLANE ENGINE SOUNDED ABNORMAL DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, WITH ONE WITNESS PILOT STATING THE ENGINE NEVER SOUNDED SMOOTH DURING THE ENTIRE TIME THE AIRPLANE WAS ON THE RUNWAY OR WHILE AIRBORNE. THE PILOT-RATED MECHANIC STATED THAT WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS AIRBORNE ALONG THE RUNWAY HE HEARD A MOMENTARY POWER REDUCTION, FOLLOWED BY A POWER ADVANCE. THE FLIGHT CONTINUED AND WAS NOTED TO BE IN A VERY SHALLOW CLIMB. BY WITNESS ACCOUNTS, THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED TO BETWEEN 50 AND NO HIGHER THAN ABOUT 200 FT WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF RUNWAYS 02/20 AND 14/32, WHICH WAS ABOUT 5,200 FT DOWN THE RUNWAY, WITH ABOUT ONLY 1,000 FT OF RUNWAY REMAINING. THE FLIGHT CONTINUED IN A WING AND NOSE-LEVEL ATTITUDE AS IT DEPARTED THE AIRPORT. A NUMBER OF OTHER WITNESSES LOCATED AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS ON THE AIRPORT REPORTED A SIMILIAR POOR SOUNDING AIRCRAFT ENGINE AS THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED.

A PRIVATE RESIDENCE ABOUT 266 FT NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE RECORDED VIDEO AND AUDIO OF THE LAST PORTION OF THE FLIGHT. THE VIDEO SHOWS THE AIRCRAFT ON A STEEP DESCENT CRASHING INTO AN APARTMENT COMPLEX AT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ON 21 OCTOBER 2022 AT 1845 EDT.

THERE WAS NO DISTRESS CALL MADE BY AN OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE ON THE CTAF.