MIA02FA170

The airplane impacted terrain in a nose low pitch attitude after the private pilot lost control during a turn from base to final approach. Witnesses located at the arrival airport reported the accident airplane flew a fairly "tight" right downwind pattern for runway 36 that was a "little low" (about 650 to 750 feet above ground level [agl]). The surface winds were from the east, and according to the witnesses, the result was that the pilot overshot his turn to final approach. The pilot corrected back toward the centerline in a fairly steep bank when the airplane was observed to enter a roll to the right, the nose dropped toward the ground. The witnesses then lost sight of the airplane as it descended behind trees in a nose low pitch attitude. Witnesses estimated the altitude of the airplane at the time of the roll was between 300 and 350 feet agl. The private pilot flew the airplane once within the preceding 6 months and twice within the past 12 months. No anomalies with the airframe or engines were noted that would have prevented their normal operation. According to the fixed-based operator, where the airplane was based, fueling personnel added 10 gallons to each wing prior to the accident flight; however, they were not sure what the airplane's total fuel quantity was. The unusable fuel quantity was 6.1 gallons. The fuel consumption rate varied between 24.4 and 33.0 gallons per hour depending on the power setting, and the accident flight lasted 35 minutes. No fuel was found in the fuel system components for the right engine with the exception of the fuel manifold. It was possible that the right engine's fuel supply line may have become unported during the steep bank to final; however, with an unknown fuel quantity, this could not be determined conclusively. Toxicology tests performed on the pilot were positive for tramadol (prescription painkiller) and chlorpheniramine (antihistamine, commonly used in over-the-counter cold/allergy preparations). Side effects for the drugs include dizziness, sleepiness, and performance degradation for complex cognitive and motor tasks. It is likely the use of the two drugs impaired the pilot's judgment and performance in pre-flight planning and in the flight itself.

History of flight

On September 21, 2002, about 1150 eastern daylight time, a Beagle Aircraft B-206 Series 2 airplane, N86GW, was destroyed when it collided with terrain while turning onto final approach for the Little River Airpark near McAlpin, Florida. The airplane was registered to and operated by SMM, Inc., as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the flight that originated from Jacksonville, Florida's Herlong Airport about 1115.

According to numerous witnesses who had assembled adjacent to runway 36 at the Little River private airpark, the pilot had not landed at the airpark before. The purpose of the flight was to determine if the twin-engine airplane fit in the hangar owned by a potential buyer on the airpark.

One of the witnesses was in contact with the pilot via a handheld radio, and the aircraft was first sighted southeast of the airpark, flying westbound. The pilot was given vectors to help him locate the airpark, and once he sighted the field, he executed two circular orbits over the field. He then took a heading that would establish the airplane on a right downwind landing pattern for runway 36 (3,375 feet long by 50 feet wide, turf runway). Witnesses stated he flew a fairly "tight" downwind pattern that was a "little low" (about 650 to 750 feet above ground level [agl], as opposed to 1,000 to 1,500 feet agl). The surface winds were from the east, and according to the witnesses, the result was that the pilot overshot his turn to final approach. The pilot corrected back toward the centerline in a fairly steep bank when the airplane was observed to enter a roll to the right, the nose dropped toward the ground. The witnesses then lost sight of the airplane as it descended behind trees in a nose low pitch attitude.

Witnesses estimated the altitude of the airplane at the time of the roll was between 300 and 350 feet agl. They also reported hearing a "pop" just as the aircraft entered the right roll. The aircraft impacted a grass field about 0.4 miles southwest of the airpark, in a rural housing area.

Personnel information

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on November 2, 2000, with the limitation, "Holder shall wear correcting lenses while exercising the privileges of his airman certificate." The pilot had satisfactorily completed a flight review as required by Federal Air Regulation, (FAR) 61.56 on January 31, 2002, in a Beech 35 single-engine airplane. The flight review lasted one hour and included slow-flight and steep turn maneuvers, power on and power off stalls, and emergency landings.

The pilot's flight time, taken from the pilot's most recent logbook, totaled 1,863 flight hours, which consisted of 927 hours of single-engine airplanes and 914 hours of multi-engine airplanes. His total time as pilot-in-command equated to 1,717 hours.

The last page of the pilot's logbook reflected entries from April 27, 2002 to September 6, 2002. Total flight time for the page was 25.3 hours, representing nine flights, all pilot-in-command, divided thusly: 24.7 hours in single-engine type aircraft and 0.6 hours flown on May 27, 2002, in N86GW. Since October 2001, the pilot logged two flights (totaling 4.1 hours) in the accident airplane. An acquaintance of the pilot reported he had logged approximately 300+ hours in the accident airplane

Aircraft information

The 1966-model airplane was powered by two 340-horsepower Teledyne Continental Motors GTSIO-520-C engines. The aircraft was being actively marketed by an aircraft broker, First Coast Aircraft Sales at Herlong Airport, for about a year prior to the accident. The aircraft underwent an annual inspection that was signed off on February 12, 2002, at an aircraft total time of 3,378 hours, and a Hobbs meter reading of 1,137.0 hours. That Hobbs time was also the time indicated on November 16, 2001, when the engine's oil was changed. Time displayed on the Hobbs at the accident site was 1,140.3 hours, or 3.3 hours in at last the last 10 months.

According to the owner/operator of First Coast Aircraft Sales, the relative long period of inactivity of the aircraft at the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002 was due to concerns by the owner, the annual inspector, and a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) concerning the remedy for a spot found on the left wing spar that had been exposed to paint stripper. The DER signed off on the repair on January 23, 2002, and the annual was completed and signed off on February 12, 2002. The engine logbooks revealed the left and right engine accumulated 131.3 and 1,141.3 hours since their last overhaul, respectively, at the time of the accident. The propellers had been changed at the same time as the left engine, and each had accumulated 131.3 hours since their last overhaul.

The owner/operator of First Coast Aircraft Sales stated that the pilot/owner of N86GW had recently changed the Hoskins fuel management computer/indicator, and believed that the unit may not have been calibrated to the aircraft. He opined that its use by the pilot/owner may have been a factor in the accident.

Meteorological information

At 1252, the Lake City weather observation facility (located 18 miles east of the accident site) reported the wind from 070 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, scattered clouds at 3,800 feet and 4,800 feet agl, temperature 92 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure of 29.91 inches of Hg.

Wreckage and impact information

The wreckage site consisted of a vacant, grass and hard packed sand field fronting the 7500-block of 192nd Street in a rural housing area of McAlpin at coordinates 030.06.095 degrees north latitude by 082.54.075 degrees west longitude, and an elevation of about 94 feet mean sea level. Relative to the approach end of runway 36, the wreckage was located about 2,000 feet on a 195-degree magnetic bearing.

Witness statements and wreckage evidence indicated the descent angle was steep enough that the wreckage remained essentially where first terrain impact occurred. The cabin area displayed aft crushing from the bottom side. The nose of the airplane was facing a 250-degree heading. The measurement of the aft crushing damage on the leading edges of the wings equated to 70 degrees nose down on the left wing and 50 degrees nose down on the right wing. A ground scar that indented the packed sand under the left wing was 4 feet longer than the left wing span.

After terrain impact, the empennage remained stuck in the air. The empennage and aft fuselage, from a point 2.5 feet aft of the wing trailing edge, had sheared at a riveted lap joint and "jackknifed" upward and forward, resulting in the tip of the left horizontal stabilizer nearly contacting the aft left engine nacelle.

McAlpin fire/rescue personnel arrived at the accident scene within minutes of the crash (they received an emergency call at 1230 and were on scene at 1237), and reported detecting no smell of fuel, no fuel escaping from the engines or fuel tanks, nor any evidence of fuel absorbed into the soil. Examination of the wing fuel tanks revealed both had been compromised and were void of fuel. About one gallon of fuel leaked from the left wing when the wreckage was moved. Type certification data sheets for the Beagle B-206 series 2 state that the unusable fuel quantity is 36 pounds or 6.1 gallons.

Most of the windshield and window glass had shattered and was contained within about a 60-foot radius semi-circle oriented one o'clock to the wreckage heading. The landing gear were extended, and had collapsed rearward. The landing gear handle was in the "down" position,