CHI01FA032

The airplane was destroyed on impact with trees and terrain after takeoff. A post-impact fire ensued. A courier stated that he put 14 cases and 5 bags into the airplane and that "everything took place as it normally does." A witness stated, "I heard a very low flying aircraft come directly over my house. ... It sounded very revved up like a chainsaw cutting through a tree at high speed." The accident airplane's radar returns, as depicted on a chart, exhibited a horseshoe shaped flight path. That chart showed that the airplane made a left climbing turn to a maximum altitude of 2,479 feet. That chart showed the airplane in a descending left turn after that maximum recorded altitude was attained. The operator reported the pilot had flown about 75 hours in the same make and model airplane and had flown about 190 hours in the last 90 days. The weather was: Wind 090 degrees at 7 knots; visibility 1 statute mile; present weather light rain, mist; sky condition overcast 200 feet; temperature 9 degrees C; dew point 9 degrees C. No pre-impact engine anomalies were found. NTSB's Materials Laboratory Division examined the annunciator panel and recovered light assemblies and stated, "Item '29' was a light assembly with an identification cover indicating that it was the '[Right-hand] AC BUS' light. Examination of the filaments in the two installed bulbs revealed that one had been stretched, deformed and fractured and the other had been stretched and deformed." The airplane manufacturer stated that the airplane's left-hand and right-hand attitude gyros are powered by the 115-volt alternating current essential bus. Two inverters are installed and one inverter is used at a time as selected by the inverter select switch. The inverter select switch is located on the right hand switch panel. The airplane was not equipped with a backup attitude gyro and was not required to be equipped with one. The airplane was certified with a minimum flight crew of one pilot. Subsequent to the accident, the operator transitioned "from the single pilot operation of our Fairchild Metroliner to the inclusion of a First Officer."

History of flight

On November 9, 2000, about 0123 eastern standard time, a Swearingen SA226TC, N731AC, operated by Superior Aviation, was destroyed on impact with trees and terrain after takeoff from runway 14 (8,000 feet X 150 feet, wet/concrete) at Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA), near Fort Wayne, Indiana. A post-impact fire ensued. The non-scheduled domestic cargo flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 135. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was on an IFR flight plan. The airplane was piloted by a commercial pilot. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight was originating about the time of the accident and was destined for General Mitchell International Airport, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The courier on duty stated:

I delivered and put 14 cases, 5 bags into the plane at around 12AM.

The pilot showed up around 12:30. He checked the weather, went

outside to do his pre-flight and distribute the cargo. ... He came

back inside after his pre-flight, told [the lineman] that he was ready

to go. They both went outside started the plane and he rolled down

the taxi-way. I then left. He was in good spirit, everything took

place as it normally does.

The lineman on duty stated:

I gave the aircraft a GPU [ground power unit] start. Everything was

normal. The aircraft taxied out to runway 14. I put the GPU back

into the hanger. I went back outside to marshal in an arriving

aircraft. While outside, I heard engine spooling and a loud 'thud'

type sound. I went in and called the tower and [the operations

manager].

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplied a tape recording and transcript of the FWA Air Traffic Control (ATC) radio transmissions. The first communication time listed below was 0619:50 Zulu, which was 0119:50 eastern standard time. The FWA Local Control was abbreviated as LC and the accident flight (call sign Spendair 1000) was abbreviated as HKA1000 in the transcript. An excerpt from the transcript stated the following:

Time Abbreviation Communication

0619:50 LC and spendair one thousand runway one

four cleared for takeoff turn left on course

climb and maintain one zero thousand

0619:58 HKA1000 ok turn left on course cleared for takeoff

spendair one thousand and up to ten

0621:53 LC spendair one thousand radar contact

0622:01 HKA1000 one thousand roger

0623:29 LC spendair one thousand fort wayne

0623:59 LC spendair one thousand fort wayne

0624:09 LC spendair one thousand fort wayne radar

contact lost

A witness stated:

Approximately at 1:25 AM I was watching TV when I heard a very

low flying aircraft come directly over my house. It sounded like it

was going southeast to northwest. It went over very fast making me

believe it was very low. The engine was very loud. It sounded very

revved up like a chainsaw cutting through a tree at high speed.

Several seconds later I heard a fairly loud thumping noise.

A security guard on duty at the Air National Guard base about 5,000 feet west of the wreckage stated, "I heard a boom and saw a orange flash east of base."

The captain of an airplane waiting for freight at FWA at the time of the accident stated:

... At approximately 1:30 am, we heard an aircraft apply a high

power setting for a couple of seconds then heard an impact report

that shook the building. We went to our aircraft, Douglas N44587,

and listened to Tower/ Approach trying to locate an aircraft just

departed. We called and informed tower what we heard. Then debris,

which turned out to be bank checks, was drifting around our aircraft,

located near the threshold of runway 23.

The FAA supplied a chart with the accident airplane's radar returns. The chart showed a horseshoe shaped flight path. The chart showed that the airplane made a left climbing turn to a maximum altitude of 2,479 feet followed by a descending left turn after that maximum recorded altitude was attained. (See appended chart.)

Personnel information

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane multiengine land, airplane single engine land, and instrument airplane ratings. He held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. The pilot was type-rated in the Swearingen SA227 aircraft. The pilot held a first-class medical certificate issued on July 5, 2000, with no limitations. On the application for that medical, he listed 2,870 hours total time and 350 hours in the past six months. The operator reported that the pilot was hired on September 7, 1999. The operator stated that he had flown approximately 75 hours in the same make and model airplane and had flown approximately 190 hours in the last 90 days.

Aircraft information

The accident airplane, N731AC, was a Swearingen SA226TC, Metro II, serial number TC-255, twin-engine turboprop, low-wing airplane, with retractable tricycle landing gear. The fuselage was a semi-monocoque structure. The interior of the airplane was configured to carry cargo. The cabin had two crew stations. The airplane was certified with a minimum flight crew of one pilot. The airplane was equipped with two Honeywell model TPE331-10UA-511G engines, each producing 900 shaft-horsepower.

An excerpt from the airplane's flight manual stated:

A.C. [alternating current] POWER

Two 115 volt, 400 HZ, single phase inverters supply A.C. power for the

ITT gauges, torque gauges, fuel pressure gauges, oil pressure

gauges, fuel quantity gauges, and for avionic A.C. requirements. The

number one inverter is powered by the left essential bus; the number

two inverter is powered by the right essential bus.

The operator stated that "two inverters are installed on each airplane but only one inverter is used at a time as selected by the inverter switch."

An excerpt from the airplane's maintenance manual stated:

Warning Lights ...

(2) R AC BUS light illuminated indicates Right AC Bus is not powered. The

selected inverter has failed and the other inverter is not powering the bus,

usually indicating a defect in the bus-tie circuit.

The airplane's flight manual stated:

Inverter inoperative

Select other inverter.

The inverter select switch is located on the right hand switch panel.

The airplane manufacturer stated that the airplane's left-hand and right-hand attitude gyros are powered by the "essential [bus] 115 VAC [volt alternating current]." The airplane was not equipped with a backup attitude gyro and was not required to be equipped with one.

Maintenance records, dated November 6, 2000, supplied by the operator stated that the airplane had accumulated 20,874.1 hours of total flight time. The maintenance records further reported that the right and left engines had accumulated 12,087.0 and 18,543.8 hours, respectively, since new and that they had accumulated 9,157.4 and 5,095.7 hours, respectively, since overhaul. The records showed the airplane's annual inspection was completed May 5, 2000 and had a 'C' check completed on November 5, 2000.

Meteorological information

At 0154, the reported FWA weather was: Wind 090 degrees at 7 knots; visibility 1 statute mile; present weather light rain, mist; sky condition overcast 200 feet; temperature 9 degrees C; dew point 9 degrees C; altimeter 29.75 inches of mercury.

Wreckage and impact information

An on-scene investigation was conducted. The airplane impacted trees in a wooded area east of FWA. The airplane was found broken up into sections. Sections of the airplane impacted terrain and a creek bed. The Indiana State Police (ISP) produced a sketch of the area and wreckage site that showed the start of debris and tree impact was 2,177 feet east of Bluffton Road. The wreckage was widely spread in a debris path. The debris