NYC02FA044

The airplane departed on an IFR flight in VFR conditions. The takeoff, climbout, and initial cruise were normal. Approximately 35 minutes into the flight, ATC advised the pilot he was off course. The pilot responded he was trying to rejoin the airway. The controller instructed him to fly a heading, and when able, to proceed direct to the next VOR on his route. The controller also advised the pilot of a possible mode "C" problem. Radio contact was then lost for about 20 minutes. When contact was reestablished, the pilot reported having electrical problems, and that his radios were intermittent. The pilot added that he was climbing to 8,500 feet, and continuing to his destination, which was approximately 180 miles away. That was the last recorded transmission from the accident airplane. About 30 minutes later and approximately 110 miles short of his planned destination, the pilot started maneuvering to land at a local airport. The pilot of another airplane witnessed the airplane in a steep bank, just before the accident. The airplane impacted in a parking lot, and was partially consumed in a post crash fire. Examination of the wreckage revealed the airplane was configured for approach, and the landing gear was down. No preimpact failures were identified with the wreckage. Maintenance records showed that the airplane had failed an IFR certification inspection about 2 months before the accident, and that the wiring behind the instrument panel was "extremely bad." Examination of the alternator revealed that the brushes were worn asymmetrically consistent with a partial short in the rotor, or a rough slip ring. From the time the pilot first lost radio contact until the accident, the airplane passed within 25 nautical miles of approximately 20 public airports.

History of flight

On December 31, 2001, at 1616 eastern standard time, a Raytheon BE-23-B24R (Sierra), N2173W, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Armonk, New York, while maneuvering to land at the Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated from Pease International Tradeport (PSM), Portsmouth, New Hampshire, destined for Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed and activated for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91

According to communication tapes, shortly after takeoff, the pilot contacted Manchester Departure Control, and was cleared to 8,000 feet. The controller advised the pilot to fly a heading of 240 degrees until passing 3,000 feet, and then to proceed direct to the Manchester VOR (MHT). Afterwards, he was to fly his "flight plan route," which was, V104 Gardner (GDM), V14 Norwich (ORW), V16 to join V276, Yardley (ARD), and then direct North Philadelphia. The controller advised the pilot that the last two numbers of his assigned transponder code were incorrect, and that he should be squawking 1467, which the pilot acknowledge.

The controller then asked the pilot what code was set in his transponder. The pilot responded 1467, and the controller advised him she was seeing 1477. The controller instructed the pilot to recycle the third number. The pilot recycled the number, and the controller advised him she was still seeing 1477, adding she would just change his assigned squawk to 1477. The controller then instructed the pilot to change frequency.

The pilot checked in on the new frequency, and advised the controller he was climbing to 8,000 feet. The controller instructed him to maintain 6,000 feet for overtaking traffic, which the pilot acknowledged. A few minutes later, the controller asked how his "ride" was at 6,000 feet. The pilot responded that he was experiencing some turbulence, and would prefer 8,000 feet. The controller cleared the pilot to 7,000 feet, and told him to expect 8,000 feet in 5 minutes.

A couple of minutes later the pilot was cleared to his requested altitude. He was then instructed to contact Boston Center. He contacted Boston, and after approximately 15 minutes was instructed to contact Bradley Approach Control. The pilot acknowledged the transmission, and contacted Bradley.

About 10 minutes later, the Bradley controller advised the pilot he was off course. The pilot responded by saying he was trying to rejoin the airway. The controller then instructed him to fly a heading of 180 degrees, and when able, to proceed direct to the ORW VOR. A few minutes later, the controller asked the pilot what altitude he was maintaining, adding, he was seeing some altitude deviations, and that it might be the transponder's Mode "C." The pilot responded 8,000 feet. Several minutes later, the controller tried to contact the pilot, but did not receive a reply. The controller then made several more attempts, all unsuccessful.

About 20 minutes after losing radio contact, the controller was able to reestablish communications. The pilot advised the controller he was having electrical problems, and his radios were intermittent. He added, he was climbing to 8,500 feet, and proceeding direct to the Carmel (CMK) VOR and then to North Philadelphia to avoid New York's "TCA." That was the last recorded transmission from the accident airplane. Air Traffic Control continued to monitor the airplane as the flight progressed, occasionally receiving an altitude readout from the airplane's transponder.

Approximately 30 minutes later when the airplane was in the Westchester area, a controller for New York Approach asked the pilot of another airplane if he had the accident airplane in sight. The observing pilot reported the airplane in sight, and the controller replied "it looks like he is going to runway 34, can you follow him from that position," which the pilot said he could. The controller then radioed he was showing a Mode "C" of 800 feet for the accident airplane. The observing pilot responded, "that looks about right." The controller added that he had lost radar contact, and that the airplane looked like it was in a steep descent before contact was lost.

The observing pilot reported that he lost sight of the airplane. The approach controller was then advised by the Westchester local controller that the airplane had crashed. A couple of minutes later, the observing pilot advised the approach controller that when he lost sight of the airplane it was in a "steep bank."

Radar returns for the accident airplane were intermittent in the Westchester area, and only six returns could be associated with the airplane. All were within 1/4 mile of the accident site and covered a time span of approximately 23 seconds. The altitude for the returns started at 900 feet msl and ended at 500 feet msl.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight. The wreckage was approximately 3.7 miles to the north of Westchester Airport at 41 degrees, 06.812 minutes north latitude, 73 degrees, 43.082 minutes west longitude, and an elevation of 540 feet msl.

Aircraft information

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the airplane was manufactured in 1974, and was leased by the pilot. It was equipped with a 200-horsepower Lycoming IO-360 engine, and a constant speed propeller.

Examination of the maintenance logbooks revealed that an annual inspection was performed on March 16, 2001, at a facility in Beverly, Massachusetts. According to an invoice, the airplane received an IFR certification inspection on November 12, 2001, by a facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which the airplane did not pass. In addition, several discrepancies were noted on the invoice. The floor panel below the pilot station was broken, and no action was taken. The static system had a "bad" leak. Some repairs were made, but the system still leaked. The transponder did not meet specifications. It was "green tagged," and not reinstalled. There was no recorded of a transponder being installed prior to the accident. "Extremely bad" wiring was identified behind the instrument panel, and no action was taken. The left side of the instrument panel had evidence of water, "possibly from windshield," and no corrective action was listed.

According to another invoice dated November 14, 2001, the alternator, along with some other items, were repaired at a facility in Biddeford, Maine. According to a representative for the facility, the connector for the wire that attaches to the field terminal on the alternator had broken. The connection was repaired, and the system operated normally.

A pilot who worked for the accident pilot, and who flew the airplane to Biddeford on November 12, 2001, reported that during the flight he lost all electrical power, except for the battery. To conserve power, so he would not have to manually extend the landing gear, he shutdown all the radios and the electrical master. The pilot added that on two other occasions, another pilot reported that the cockpit lights started to pulsate during a night flight. The pilot was not aware of anyone experiencing any electrical problems with the airplane after the alternator was repaired in Biddeford.

Personnel information

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine-land, multi-engine-land, and instrument airplane. On the pilot's last FAA second-class medical certificate, which was dated November 19, 2001, he reported a total flight experience of 1,300 hours. The owner of the airplane who the pilot had leased the airplane from estimated the pilot had a total flight experience of 1,400 hours, with 10 hours of that being in the accident airplan