MIA94MA048

The pilot (or pilot-rated passenger) reported an 'indication' problem & said they intended to land at Okeechobee, but couldn't find the airport. They then reported engine trouble & said that they would try to land on a road. They circled the area & approached a dirt road with landing lights on. A car was proceeding on the road in the opposite direction. The plane began to climb, & it entered a left turn. It then rolled into a steep right bank, descended nose down, crashed & was consumed by fire. An exam revealed indications that both engines were operating at high RPM. A teardown revealed a right engine fuel control bearing had failed, which would have allowed improper movement of the fuel control drive shaft. The plane was last inspected on 11/25/92 & was 13 hrs over a required 150 hr inspection. A service bulletin for maintenance of the fuel control bearings had not been complied with. The owner/pilot had not completed formal ground school instruction on the airplane systems & operation. The plane had 9 seats; 10 occupants were aboard.

History of flight

On January 5, 1994, about 1829 (all times eastern standard time), a Beech B90, N230TW, registered to Kimura International, Inc., collided with trees and then the ground near Okeechobee, Florida, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed and the airline transport-rated pilot and nine passengers were fatally injured. The flight last departed from Kissimmee, Florida, on January 5, 1994, at 1801.

Representatives from Kimura International, Inc. stated the flight originally departed Opa Locka Airport, Opa Locka, Florida. The purpose of the flight was to go to Kissimmee, Florida, and pick up eight passengers, who were relatives of the pilot, and return to Opa-Locka. The pilot and pilot-rated right front seat passenger were the only persons onboard for the flight to Kissimmee. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) communication transcripts from the Opa-Locka Tower indicated the flight departed Opa-Locka Airport at 1652.

A lineman at Marathon Flight School, Inc., at the Kissimmee Airport stated N230TW arrived on the morning of January 4, 1994, with 10 or 11 passengers, who deplaned and stayed in Kissimmee. On January 5, 1994, N230TW arrived on the ramp about 1750. The Japanese pilot remained in the left front seat and kept the engines running. The non-Japanese right front seat passenger went to the rear door and opened it. The eight Japanese passengers, who had been waiting about an hour, boarded the aircraft with only carry on luggage. After they boarded, the door was closed, and the non-Japanese passenger returned to the right front seat. The aircraft immediately began to taxi and went to the nearest intersection for runway 15. The flight then immediately performed an intersection departure on runway 15 and made a straight out departure at about 1800.

At 1818:38, a person with no Japanese accent made a radio call as King Air N230TW to Miami Radio, which was received at the FAA St. Petersburg Flight Service Station (FSS). St. Petersburg FSS did not reply and no further transmissions were received. Representatives of Kimura International, Inc. stated the pilot and eight passengers who boarded the aircraft at Kissimmee were Japanese, and spoke with a Japanese accent. The pilot-rated right front seat passenger was not Japanese and did not speak with a Japanese accent.

A pilot in another aircraft who was landing at the Okeechobee Airport heard on the unicom frequency, 123.0 mhz, a person with no Japanese accent, calling as King Air N230TW, just before 1830. The person stated the King Air had an indicator problem and they were going to make a precautionary landing at the Okeechobee Airport; however, they could not locate the airport. The person then talked to another pilot who was airborne and then stated they were changing to the emergency frequency 121.5 mhz. This pilot switched to 121.5 mhz and listened to the person on N230TW talk to the pilots of another aircraft, a Cessna Citation.

A flight instructor and student in another aircraft, in flight north of the Okeechobee Airport, heard on the unicom frequency, 123.0 mhz, the person on N230TW talking to the aircraft which was landing. The instructor then contacted the person on N230TW and gave him directions toward the Okeechobee Airport. He then flew over the airport with his landing light on to help the pilot of N230TW locate it. The person on N230TW reported that he had him in sight and that they were at 1,100 feet, loosing altitude and didn't know why, and were switching to 121.5 mhz. The instructor then switched to 121.5 mhz and heard the person on N230TW talking to the pilots of a Cessna Citation. The instructor and student then flew north and located the burning wreckage of N230TW.

The pilots of a Cessna Citation flying at 43,000 feet, about 80 nm east-northeast of Palm Beach, Florida, reported hearing a person with no Japanese accent transmitting on the emergency frequency 121.5 mhz, as King Air N230TW. The person reported that the flight was having engine trouble and that they were trying to land on a road. The person reported descending through 200 feet and that they were going into trees. The person then reported they were contacting trees. The pilots then heard the sounds of an emergency locator transmitter for about 3 seconds. The pilots reported the conversation to FAA Miami Center at 1828:46.

Witnesses on the ground near the crash site observed N230TW circle several times at low altitude to the west of Highway 441. The aircraft then appeared to approach a dirt road from west to east for landing, with the landing lights on. A car was going west on the road and the aircraft appeared to pull up and make a steep left turn. The aircraft was flying at a low speed and engine sounds were audible. As the aircraft flew to the north the right wing dipped down toward the ground. The aircraft then descended nose down, right wing down until ground impact. The aircraft exploded on impact.

Recorded radar data from the FAA Orlando Approach Control and the FAA Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center was reviewed after the accident. An aircraft was observed to depart the Kissimmee Airport at about 1801, and proceed south-southeast bound. This aircraft climbed to 7,000 feet, reaching this altitude at 1809:06. The aircraft immediately began a descent from this point. The aircraft continued in a descent and was lost from radar at 1825:06, at 1,100 feet, at a point 5 nm north of the crash site of N230TW.

For additional history of flight information see attachments to this report.

Personnel information

The pilot of N230TW reported to the FAA on April 30, 1988, on application for a flight instructor certificate renewal, that he had 4,220 total flight hours in airplanes and 6,160 total flight hours in helicopters. On March 1, 1991, on an application for an FAA medical certificate, the pilot reported he had 10,000 total flight hours and that he had flown 300 flight hours in the previous 6 months. On April 1, 1992, on an application for an FAA medical certificate, the pilot reported he had flown 20,000 total flight hours and that he had flown 600 flight hours in the previous 6 months.

On August 18, 1992, on an application for a rotorcraft airline-transport pilot certificate, the pilot reported he had 18,000 total flight hours. On June 23, 1993, the pilot reported on an FAA medical certificate application that he had 22,000 total flight hours and had flown 300 flight hours in the previous 6 months. The pilot's family could not locate a pilot logbook after the accident. The pilot's flight time could not be verified.

Representatives of Kimura International reported that the pilot had attended two ground schools on the King Air, as part of the certification process to place the aircraft on a 14 CFR Part 135 air taxi certificate. He did not complete either of the ground schools. The instructor for the last ground school the pilot attended stated they did not teach engine overspeed or propeller overspeed emergencies during the 15 hours he taught the school. The pilot was reported to have received 13 hours of dual flight instruction in the King Air. He also was reported to have flown 117 hours as pilot-in-command in the aircraft. Before this the only turbo-propeller powered aircraft experience the pilot was known to have received was 272 flight hours in turbo- propeller Aero Commanders.

FAA records indicated that on November 4, 1982, the pilot was involved in an aircraft accident at Doraville, Georgia, in a Cessna 152, when all fuel was exhausted and a forced landing was made. On March 26, 1984, the pilot was involved in an incident at Boulder City, Nevada, when he landed on a road following loss of electrical power at night in a Cessna 172. The pilot was involved in an incident on Octo