MIA01FA192

The pilot had flown the airplane in to have maintenance performed at the airport, on June 12, 2001, and returned to pick up the airplane on the morning of July 21, 2001. There was no one at the airport that could say they observed the pilot perform a pre-flight inspection before he got into the airplane. He departed about 2 minutes after paying his bill. Witnesses heard a rough running engine, and observed the airplane reach an altitude of 200-300 feet above ground level, clear wires at the departure end of the runway, turn to the left with the left wing almost perpendicular to the ground, the nose went down, the airplane impacted into a cotton field and burst into flames. A witness said, "it stalled and came straight down." Examination of the engine did not disclose evidence of mechanical malfunction. Toxicology test showed that the following drugs were found in the pilot's blood, liver, and kidney: Propoxyphene, Norpropoxyphene, Fluoxetine, and Norfluoxetine. Medical records revealed that the pilot was taking prescribed medication for "frequent or severe headaches." It is likely that the pilot was impaired at the time of the accident by the effects of propoxyphene, and possibly by the effects of narcotic dependence.

History of flight

On July 21, 2001, about 0915 eastern daylight time, a Beech BE-35-F35, N5058S, owned and operated by a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight impacted the ground and burned shortly after takeoff from the Bamberg County Airport, Bamberg, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed. The private-rated pilot received fatal injuries. The flight was originating at the time and was en route to Beaufort, South Carolina.

Witnesses observed the airplane reach an altitude of 200 to 300 feet above ground level, clear wires at the departure end of the runway, turn to the left, the nose went down, the airplane impacted into a cotton field and burst into flames. A witness, who lived in a cabin 1/2 mile from the departure end of the runway, said he heard the engine "spitting...spurting and sounded like it was going to stall." He looked up and saw the airplane "...gaining a little altitude and turning left...the right [wing] was up in the turn, it appeared the pilot was trying to return to the airport. It stalled and came straight down." He also said it turned one time as it descended to the ground, it went down behind trees, and he saw smoke billowing up. Another witness, located inside his hangar said, the engine "...started to sound rough after it was airborne."

On the day of the accident, the maintenance facility's owner said he did not watch the pilot as he readied for his departure, did not know if the pilot performed a preflight inspection, and did not hear the pilot do a run up. He did say that the pilot paid for the maintenance, and walked out to his airplane. He heard the airplane startup and taxi away. He said that it was no more than "two minutes" before he heard the airplane go by after the startup in front of his hangar. He heard the engine running until the airplane reached a location past the departure end of Runway 5. He said that he heard the engine slow and then become silent.

Personnel information

The pilot held an FAA private pilot certificate, with airplane single engine land, last issued on December 3, 1993. He held an FAA class 3 medical certificate issued on December 28, 2000, with limitations; "Must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision." There were no records found to indicate when the pilot last received a biennial flight review, as required by 14 CFR Part 61. The pilot's personal flight logbooks were not found. As per the entries on the pilot's last flight physical, he had accumulated a total of 1,000 total flight hours, in all aircraft.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a Beech; model BE-35-F35, serial number D-4367, manufactured in 1955. At the time of the accident the airframe had accumulated 3,222 total flight hours. The airplane received an annual inspection on June 12, 2001, 0.1 hours before the accident. The airplane was equipped with one Continental Motor's E225-8, 225 horsepower engine. According to the maintenance records, the engine at the time of the accident had a total time of 1,743.9 hours.

The pilot had flown the airplane into Bamberg on June 12, 2001, for the purpose of having the engine top overhauled, and the annual inspection performed. According to the maintenance facility's owner, they removed the six cylinders and sent them out for chroming, and completed the annual inspection on the airframe. When the cylinders were finished, he reinstalled them and ran the engine. The engine was run a total of four times after it was overhauled. On July 11, 2001, they ran the engine for 3 minutes at low power, and then shut it down to let it cool. They repeated this cycle two more times letting the engine run for three minutes at reduced power, and again, shutting it off to let it cool down.

On July 12, 2001, they ran the engine at high power for a period of 15 minutes, and the engine temperatures, oil pressure, and magneto checks were all good. After the static engine run was performed the airplane sat until the pilot started the engine on July 21, 2001.

An STC (Supplementary Type Certificate) was issued in 1995, for use of automobile gas. At the time of the on-site investigation the smell of auto fuel was present.

Meteorological information

The automated weather for the Orangeburg Airport, located 15 NM northeast at 0853 was: clear, visibility 10 sm, wind 070 at 10 knots, temperature 73 degrees F, dew point 64 degrees F, and the altimeter was 30.00 in Hg.

Wreckage and impact information

The accident site was located about 1/4 of a mile north of the Bamberg Airport. The airplane impacted in a cotton field. A 60-foot-diameter circle of cotton was burned during the post impact fire. The terrain was flat with trees to the south of the impact area. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight about 33 degrees, 18 minutes north, and 081 degrees, 06 minutes west.

Examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuselage, nose and cowling were crushed aft and damaged by the post impact fire. The left wing remained attached to the left side of the fuselage. The left landing gear was found in the down position. The wing flap was in the up position. The left aileron was attached to the wing, and the control cables were intact and continuous to the cockpit. The inboard 8 feet of the leading edge of the wing displayed impact damaged, and was destroyed by the post impact fire.

The right wing remained attached to the right side of the fuselage. The right main landing gear was in the down position. The wing flap remained attached to the wing and was in the up position. The right aileron was attached to the wing, and one of the aileron control cables was separated, so the aileron would not move when the cables were manipulated. The inboard 8 feet of the leading edge of the wing was destroyed by fire.

The instruments in the cockpit were melted, and the cockpit area was destroyed by fire. The engine controls were found melted, but the position of the throttle and the mixture knobs were determined to be forward. The pilot seat frames were all that remained after the impact and post impact fire. The pilot's seat belt buckle was connected, and one of the shoulder harness was attached to the seat belt buckle. The post impact fire melted the belts and harness.

The fuel selector was partially damaged by fire, and impact, and it was found between the OFF and RIGHT fuel tank position. The fuel selector, fuel strainer screen, was removed and was found to be correctly installed with the cone side up. The debris found in the strainer screen was determined to be from the remains of the fire damaged fuel selector seals.

The engine was observed at the crash and did not exhibit any indications of a catastrophic failure. Examination of the engine revealed that it had separated from the fuselage. The engine was disassembled and the crankshaft was found to be continuous. The forward end of the crankshaft was bent by impact. The propeller was turned and the accessory drive gears rotated. Due to the bent crankshaft flange, the propeller was binding, and could not be turned a full 360 degrees. It would only rotate 300 degrees. The propeller was removed, and the crankshaft was then rotated through a full cycle of 360 degrees. The engine exhibited continuity when the propeller was rotated. Thumb compression was established on all six cylinders.

The propeller hub was found attached to the front of the engine. One propeller blade had separated from the propeller hub, and the other blade remained attached to the hub. The propeller blades did not display any twisting or visible bending. A nick was observed in the leading edge tip of the blade that had remained attached to the hub.

The carburetor was found separated from the engine intake manifold, and was damaged by fire and impact. The carburetor finger f