MIA99FA180

An aircraft mechanic stated one of the airplanes engines was making an unusual noise during takeoff. An Air Traffic Controller stated the flight used about 4,500 feet of runway before lifting off. About 1 minute after being cleared for takeoff, the pilot reported 'were coming around were losing a right engine'. The controller and a witness observed the airplane level off, sway to the left and right, and then descend. The pilot reported he was not going to make it. The airplane was lost from sight behind trees. Post crash examination of the airplane structure, flight controls, engines, and propellers showed no evidence of pre-crash failure or malfunction that would have prevented operation. The landing gear and wing flaps were found retracted. The left and right propellers were found in the low blade angle position and had similar damage. An NTSB sound study of ATC communications showed that at the time the pilot reported they were not going to make it, a propeller signature showed 1,297 rpm and another propeller signature of 2,160 rpm. The engine inoperative procedure contained in the Pilot Operating Handbook for the Cessna 421C, calls for the throttle on the inoperative engine to be closed, the mixture placed in idle cut-off, and the propeller feathered. The Pilot Operating Handbook also showed the airplane would normally use 2,000 feet of runway for takeoff under the accident conditions.

History of flight

On June 14, 1999, about 1257 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 421C, N421LL, registered to and operated by David Drye Company, LLC., crashed after the pilot reported a loss of power in the right engine, shortly after takeoff from Concord Regional Airport, Concord, North Carolina, while on a Title 14 CFR Part 91 corporate flight to Anderson, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed and the commercial-rated pilot and three passengers received fatal injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

Recorded communications between the pilot of N421LL and air traffic controllers at the Concord Regional Airport, Air Traffic Control Tower, showed that at 1250:00, the pilot reported that the flight was going to Anderson, under visual flight rules, at 4,500 feet. The pilot was cleared to taxi to runway 20. At 1254:39, the pilot was cleared for takeoff on runway 20. At 1255:39, the pilot reported to controllers "were coming around, were losing a right engine". The controller cleared the pilot to land. At 1256:19, the pilot reported "don't think were going to make it". The controller responded and the pilot again stated, "I don't think were going to make it". The controller responded that they are sending out the emergency crews. The pilot responded "yeah". No further transmissions were received from the pilot. See transcript of communications.

The air traffic controller working in the Concord Regional Airport, Air Traffic Control Tower, stated the flight taxied to runway 20 for a visual flight rules departure. He cleared the flight for takeoff and observed the aircraft lift off the runway at approximately the 1,000-foot remaining marker. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported he had a right engine failure. The controller notified rescue personnel and cleared the flight to land. The flight leveled off the climb and continued straight ahead. The flight lost altitude and the pilot declared he was not going to make it back to the airport. The flight was then lost from site behind a shopping mall and he then observed black smoke.

A witness who was driving south on Interstate 85 stated he observed the airplane take-off from the Concord Regional Airport, which was on his right side. The airplane climbed normally to about 700 to 800 feet. The airplane then leveled off and swayed to the left and then back to the right. The airplane then swayed to the left again as it descended and then swayed to the right. He lost sight of the airplane as it crossed the shopping center and disappeared behind trees.

An aircraft mechanic who was in a hangar at the Concord Regional Airport stated he heard the airplane begin the take-off. As the airplane passed the hangar he was in, he heard a sound that he says was like a loose or cracked cylinder head. He turned and saw the airplane in a slow rotation more than halfway down the runway. At that point he was called by another mechanic and did not watch the airplane further.

Personnel information

Federal Aviation Administration records showed the pilot held a FAA commercial pilot certificate last issued on December 29, 1982, with airplane single engine land, airplane multiengine land, and instrument airplane ratings. The pilot held a FAA airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate and an inspection authorization. The pilot held a second-class medical certificate, issued on July 8, 1998, with no limitations. The pilot reported on the application for this medical certificate that he had accumulated 7,360 total flight hours and had flown 30 flight hours in the previous 6 months.

The pilot received a Title 14 CFR Part 135 flight check in the Cessna 421C on March 23, 1999. The pilot's family and employer could not locate current logbook records for the pilot after the accident. The pilot reported on an insurance application in 1998, that he had 7,500 total flight hours with 6,000 total flight hours as pilot-in-command in multiengine aircraft. Records obtained from the pilot's employer showed that he attended a Cessna 421 recurrent course on June 21, 1996. See pilot records.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a Cessna Aircraft Company model 421C, serial number 421C0305, manufactured in July 1977. At the time of the accident the airplane had accumulated 5,145 total flight hours. The airplane was last inspected on September 3, 1998, 236 flight hours before the accident, when it received an annual inspection. The airplane received an altimeter, static system, and transponder test on October 15, 1997.

The left engine was a Teledyne Continental Motors model GTSIO-520-L, serial number L-604701. At the time of the accident the engine had accumulated 4,469 total flight hours and 1,083 flight hours since remanufacture on August 1, 1994. On December 16, 1998, 154 flight hours before the accident, the left engine was disassembled and the crankcase was changed. The engine received an oil and filter change on January 18, 1999, 124 flight hours before the accident.

The right engine was a Teledyne Continental Motors model GTSIO-520-L, serial number R-265007-R. At the time of the accident the engine had accumulated 1,081 flight hours since remanufacture on August 1, 1994. The engine total time is not known. The engine received an oil and filter change on January 18, 1999, 124 flight hours before the accident.

The left propeller was new when it was installed on the airplane on December 17, 1998, 152 flight hours before the accident. The right propeller was installed on the airplane, after overhaul, on September 3, 1998, 236 flight hours before the accident.

Federal Aviation Administration, Airworthiness Directive 75-23-08 R5, requires inspection of the engine exhaust systems on the Cessna 421C at 50 and 100-hour intervals. Logbook records show that the last compliance of this Airworthiness Directive was on September 3, 1998, 236 flight hours before the accident. See logbook records.

Meteorological information

The Concord Regional Airport, 1255, surface weather observation was clouds scattered at 5,000 feet, visibility 10 miles, temperature 90 degrees F, dew point temperature 63 degrees F, wind from 220 degrees at 8 knots.

Wreckage and impact information

The airplane crashed in a wooded area behind a house located at 8115 Homewood Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina. The crash site coordinates are North 35 degrees 21.1 minutes and West 80 degrees 44.5 minutes. Examination of the crash site showed the airplane first collided with a tree at about 60 feet above the ground, about 250 feet from the initial ground impact point. The airplane then descended on about a 245 degree heading and impacted the ground right wing first, while in about a 30 bank angle. About 50 feet further, a 6-inch diameter tree was severed completely, about 2 feet above the ground, by the left propeller. Adjacent to this area was found a counter weight from the right propeller, the right main landing gear doors, and one blade from the right propeller. About 120 feet further was found the main wreckage, lying inverted, and both engines and the left propeller, which was separated from the engine propeller shaft. The right propeller hub and two blades remained attached to the right engine. A postcrash fire consumed the airplane and a large wooded area around the crash site.

Examination of the wreckage showed all components of the aircraft, which are necessary for flight, were located on or around the main wreckage. Examination of the flight control systems showed that all separation points in the cables was consistent with overstress separation or being cut during removal of the airplanes occupants. The aileron trim actuator was found at the 14-degree tab down position. The actuator was found separated. The elevator trim actuator was found in the 1-degree tab down position. The rudder trim actua