NYC01FA223

After takeoff, the pilot reported "an engine problem," but did not elaborate. A witness on the ground saw that the left engine was trailing smoke, but the engine was still operating, and did not sound like it was "missing". When asked by the tower controller if he required assistance, the pilot answered "no". The controller cleared the pilot for left traffic to a landing, and provided the current weather. There were no further transmissions from the pilot. Smoothed radar tracking data revealed that the airplane turned toward a left downwind, and leveled off at 1,400 feet msl (about 1,050 feet agl) and 156 knots. During the next 14 seconds, the airplane descended to 1,100 feet and increased airspeed to 173 knots. Then radar contact was lost. Witnesses observed the airplane variously in a right snap roll and a left wingover, followed by a sharp dive to the ground. The airplane had just undergone maintenance. During maintenance, unused oil was found in the left engine cowling, which the pilot admitted he had previously spilled. Following maintenance, the pilot was observed adding 3 additional quarts of oil to the left engine. The engine oil dipsticks were calibrated on both sides, with each side pertaining to the oil level in a specific engine. The side for the right engine was calibrated to read 1 3/4 quarts lower than the left engine. The airplane's wreckage was fragmented. No evidence of mechanical defect was found, nor was there any evidence of an extreme out-of-trim condition. There was also no evidence of engine failure, detonation, or pre-impact failure. The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate. He reported 3,210 hours of flight time to the operator, and had recently been cleared to fly the airplane on 14 CFR Part 91flights. The flight to the maintenance facility was the pilot's first solo flight in the airplane. An autopsy of the pilot revealed the presence of a prostate adenocarcinoma; however, according to his physician, the pilot was unaware of it.

History of flight

On September 5, 2001, at 1313 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31-350, N8PK, operated by Panda Air, Limited, Ferndale, New York, was destroyed when it impacted terrain in Bern Township, Pennsylvania. The airplane was returning for landing, shortly after takeoff from Reading Regional/Carl A. Spaatz Field (RDG), Reading, Pennsylvania. The certificated airline transport pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight to Orange County Airport (MGJ), Montgomery, New York. The positioning flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The Reading Air Traffic Control Tower was operating a combined ground/local controller position. At 1301, the pilot called for ground taxi, and was advised to taxi to runway 36. At 1310, the pilot called "ready to go three six, be a right turnout." He was then cleared to take off from runway 36, and make a right turnout on course. At 1312, while a ground vehicle was talking to the tower controller on the ground frequency, the pilot called the tower on the local frequency and stated "...tower, i gotta return, i got an engine problem eight papa kilo."

About 10 seconds after the pilot's initial call, the tower controller asked him if he required any assistance. When the pilot did not respond, the controller transmitted that he understood the pilot was returning for a landing, and again asked the pilot if he required any assistance. The pilot's response was, "(unintelligible) ah no, no (unintelligible)." At 1313, the controller told the pilot to fly left traffic for runway 36. He also gave the pilot the current weather, and stated that runway 31 was available. There were no further communications from the pilot.

In a subsequent radio transmission to a ground vehicle, the tower controller stated that the airplane had disappeared behind a hill in a vertical descent.

According to one witness, a former air crash/rescue airport employee and current police officer, he was in his house about 1/4 mile from the departure end of runway 36, when he heard the airplane fly overhead. One of the engines sounded "strange", as if it was not making full power. The witness went outside, and saw that the airplane was about 200 feet in the air, and puffs of white smoke were coming from the rear of the left engine. The engine, however, was still operating, and did not sound like it was "missing". The airplane then turned to the left, toward the northwest, and eventually began a left bank as if to land on runway 13. It then entered a "snap roll real hard to the right" followed by a nose-dive, and disappeared below a tree line. The next thing the witness saw, was a plume of black smoke rise from the area. The witness remembered thinking that if the left engine had lost power, he would have expected the airplane to roll to the left. He could not understand why it rolled to the right.

Another witness was in his car and stopped at a traffic light, heading northwest, just northwest of Reading Airport. He saw the airplane come into view from his right, and move to his left while climbing. The witness estimated that the airplane was about 1,000 feet in the air and was "really moving, like it was under full power." The airplane then flew over a tree line, banked hard to the left, "like going into a left hand wingover," and entered a sharp dive towards the ground. The dive was not straight down, but the airplane was "very nose down." The witness lost sight of the airplane as it went below the tree line, but shortly thereafter, he saw a huge round ball of smoke rise from the area.

A third witness reported that he was standing in an athletic complex, about five football fields away from the accident site, when the accident occurred. The airplane was between the witness and the airport. The witness stated that his attention was drawn to the airplane because he was used to the sounds of other airplanes and this one just didn't sound right. The airplane didn't have the regular hum of a normal airplane; "it sounded like a giant saw in a saw mill." It was louder than normal, and "not in rhythm." It sounded like "a 'putt-putt-putt;' like it was running out of gas." The witness saw smoke coming out of the airplane. He originally thought the airplane was single-engine, because when he first saw it, it was in an angle of bank, and he could not see two engines. Then he saw it make a "real quick" nose-dive, and lost sight of it as it went below a tree line. The witness was sure that the pilot had no control of the airplane when it suddenly dropped.

A fourth witness was an engine mechanic who heard, but did not see the accident. He stated that he heard one engine running smoothly, and the other engine "popped." It sounded like a "lean pop," like an automobile engine not getting enough gas; it did not sound like an ignition problem.

According to smoothed radar tracking data, the airplane turned toward a left downwind, and leveled off at 1,400 feet msl (about 1,050 feet agl) and 156 knots. During the next 14 seconds, the airplane descended to 1,100 feet and increased airspeed to 173 knots. Then radar contact was lost.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight, and in the vicinity of 40 degrees, 22.84 minutes north latitude, 75 degrees, 59.87 minutes west longitude.

Personnel information

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate, with ratings for single engine and multi-engine airplanes. He was also a certificated flight instructor in single and multi-engine airplanes, and instrument-airplane. His latest Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second class medical certificate was dated December 15, 2000.

On his medical certificate application, the pilot did not list any visits to health professionals within the previous 3 years. He also did not report being diagnosed with any illnesses, "ever" or "presently". The aviation medical examiner was not the pilot's personal physician.

The pilot's personal physician reported that the pilot had last visited him on May 9, 2001, for "evaluation of inguinal hernia and prostate check.... Prostate was enlarged somewhat, without modularity." The physician indicated that a PSA test was ordered but the results were never received. The physician also noted that the pilot did not present any condition that would have resulted in headaches, dizziness, unconsciousness, heart or vascular problems, neurological disorders, depression, or any other afflictions that might have led to incapacitation. The physician did not know if the pilot had been seeing another health care professional.

The president of Panda Air had been in contact with the pilot on and off for about 15 years. The pilot had previously sought employment with his company, but until recently, the timing had not worked out. The pilot was engaged to be married, and had a young child and two older children. The pilot did not appear to be financially well off, and supplemented his flying income with work as a carpenter.

The pilot's logbook was not recovered. On his resume provided to Panda Air, he stated that he had 3,210 hours of flight time, including 1,385 hours in multi-engine airplanes and 1,150 hours as a flight instructor. According to company records, he began flying the PA-31-350 on July 30, 2001, and completed 7 flights with 20.2 hours' duration prior to the accident flight. Company personnel also stated that the week before the accident flight, the pilot had practiced numerous simulated engine-out scenarios. He had also been deemed proficient by the company's training captain to begin flying solo 14 CFR Part 91 flights, in preparation for a 14 CFR Part 135 checkride. The flight to Reading was his first solo flight in the airplane.

The company's training captain described the accident pilot as "smooth, conscientious and capable." In addi