ATL05FA043

Forty seconds after takeoff, the pilot radioed that he had an emergency and was banking the airplane hard to the left to return to runway 21. Controllers informed the pilot that runway 21 was not cleared and that he could land on runway 33. The airplane collided with the ground between runways 21 and 33. Examination of the aircraft revealed the left hand fuel selector was found selected to the main tank position and approximately one-quart of fuel was drained from this tank. Three gallons are considered unusable. The right hand fuel selector was found selected to the auxiliary fuel tank position. At least five gallons of fuel was found in that tank. Neither the left main nor the right auxiliary tanks were breached. The airplane was fitted with tip tanks installed under a Supplemental Type Certificate. The tip tank switches located on the instrument panel, were found in the auxiliary or off position. The tip tanks were found breached and fire damaged. The airplane's flight manual calls for takeoff and landing to be made on the main fuel tanks only. The post-accident examination of the airframe and subsystems failed to disclose any mechanical problems or component failures.

History of flight

On January 10, 2005, at 1937 eastern standard time a Piper PA-30, N7654Y, registered to G.J. Air LLC and operated by the commercial pilot, collided with the ground and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Runway 21, at Charleston International Airport, Charleston, South Carolina. The repositioning flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated at Charleston International Airport, Charleston, South Carolina, on January 10, 2005 at 1936.

According to Charleston International Airport, Air Traffic Control Tower, at 1935:39 the flight was cleared to takeoff on runway 21. At 1936:05 the pilot reported "we are going to have to turn around and come back real close in here we got an emergency". At 1936:09 the Controller advised the pilot that runway 21 clear to land delta six seventy six hold short of the runway traffic is landing. At 1936:15 Delta 676 advised the controller that they were all ready past the hold short line. At 1936:17 the controller advised N7654Y, that if you can make it to runway 33 you're cleared to land runway 33 there is traffic on runway 21. At 1936:34 the controller announced that the airport was closed. The airplane collided with the ground between runways 21 and 33.

Personal information

Review of information on file with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airman's Certification Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed the pilot was issued a commercial pilot certificate on November 5, 1999, with ratings for airplane single engine land, airplane multiengine land and instrument airplane. Review of the FAA aeromedical records showed that the pilot held a second class medical certificate issued on October 4, 2005, with restrictions "must wear lenses for distant - possess glasses for near vision" and "must use hearing amplification." The pilot reported 3,400 hours of flight experience on his latest medical application.

Aircraft information

The airplane is a four seat, fixed wing 1965 Piper Twin Comanche PA-30 with retractable tricycle landing gear. The Twin Comanche is powered by two reciprocating, fuel injected Lycoming IO-320-B1A engines. A review of maintenance records revealed that the last annual inspection was conducted on October 12, 2004, at a tachometer reading of 3335.82 hours. At the time of the accident, the tachometer read 3382.63.

Review of the engine maintenance records revealed that both engines were previously overhauled in the field on March 28, 1991. The accumulated time in service since the overhaul (TSO) was approximately 492 hours.

Lycoming Service Instruction No. 1009AQ specifies the recommended time between overhaul (TBO) for Lycoming Engines. According to Service Instruction SI 1009AQ, IO-320-B1A series engines should be overhauled after the accumulation of 2000 hours time in service since new or previous overhaul. Additionally, engines that do not accumulate the hourly period of time between overhauls as specified, are recommended to be overhauled in the twelfth (12th) year.

Meteorological information

The nearest weather reporting facility at the time of the accident was Charleston International Airport, Charleston, South Carolina. The 1949 surface weather observation was clear, visibility 8 miles, temperature 57-degress Fahrenheit, dew point 55-degrees Fahrenheit, wind 230-degrees at 5 knots, and altimeter 30.17"Hg.

Wreckage and impact information

Examination of the wreckage site found that the airplane had collided with terrain in a grassy area south of the intersection of runways 33 and 21. The airplane came to rest on a heading of 072-degrees. The nose section, both outboard wing panels and both outboard tip tanks were fire damaged. Both outboard wing panels were partially separated at the production splice. The detached nose landing gear was located just forward of the fuselage center section. The main landing gears were partially detached from the wings. The left main landing gear was displaced rearward and the right mail landing gear was displaced forward.

The left hand fuel selector was found selected to the main tank position and approximately one-quart of fuel was drained from this tank. Three gallons are considered unusable. The right hand fuel selector was found selected to the auxiliary fuel tank position. At least five gallons of fuel was found in that tank. Neither the left main nor the right auxiliary tanks were breached. Charleston International Airport, The tip tank switches located on the instrument panel, were found in the aux or off position. The tip tanks were found breached and fire damaged. The airplane's flight manual calls for takeoff and landing to be made on the main fuel tanks only.

Both aileron control cables were found connected from the aileron bell cranks to the center section of the airplane. The aileron balance cable was connected between the two aileron bell cranks. The stabilator control cables were intact from the stabilator balance tube to the center section of the airplane. The rudder control cables were intact from the rudder control horn assembly to the center section of the airplane. The rudder trim assembly was set to the neutral position (8 threads). The stabilator trim assembly was set to a slight nose down trim (4 threads). Wing flaps were set at the 0-degree position. The empennage section sustained minor damage to the right side of the stabilator and anti servo trim tab.

Both engine throttle controls were found in the full forward position. Both propeller lever controls were found in the full forward position. Both mixture control levers were found in the full forward position. The engine control quadrant was loose from it panel mounts, but the engine controls were jammed in the quadrant.

Left and right propeller remained attached to their respective engine flanges and both propeller blades remained secure and affixed within the hub. Both blades appeared to be in low pitch / high rpm position. One left propeller blade was bent aft slightly. The opposite left propeller blade remained straight. One right propeller blade was curled aft near mid span and showed chordwise scoring. The opposite right propeller blade showed slight torsional aft bending. Thermal damage from the post impact ground fire was noted.

Both the left and right propeller governors remained attached to the engine cases, and the governor control cables remained attached to the control arms. Both governor control arms were found in the high rpm position.

Examination of the left and right engines revealed that they remained attached to the airframe structure. The engine mount tubes were bent upward and toward the left (inboard). The bottom section of cowling was crushed flat. The entire engine compartment was exposed to thermal damage from the post impact fire. Fluid carrying hoses for fuel and oil were heavily fire damaged. The mixture control cable from the cockpit remained attached to the fuel injector servo mixture control arm and the arm was found in the full rich position. The oil sump on the bottom of the engine was breached and oil was found drained out on the ground. The oil quantity gauge was checked and showed no measurable quantity remaining. The top spark plugs were removed for exam and each plug was dry and exhibited medium gray color combustion deposits. Electrode wear was moderate-to-advanced. Spark plug electrode gap settings were normal. A lighted bore scope was used to examine the cylinder assemblies, which revealed no mechanical anomalies.

The left engine throttle control cable from the cockpit remained attached to the fuel injector servo throttle valve arm and the arm was in the full throttle open position. The right engine throttle control cable from the coc