NYC94FA148

The airplane had under gone routine maintenance for slow acceleration on the right engine. Maintenance records revealed the fuel controls were changed from the right engine to the left engine. The airplane was released back to the pilot for service, and he departed for his home station. Several witnesses saw the airplane after takeoff at a low altitude, and at a slow speed. The airplane turned left, and the left wing struck the ground. Two witnesses saw the airplane pass by them at a low altitude, and wrote, '...at this point we could see the left (port) engine propeller was turning very slowly. You could actually see the individual blades of the propeller turning.' A complete disassembly of both engines, revealed no discrepancies other than impact, and post impact fire damage. Disassembly of the left propeller indicated that the propeller blades were at or near feather at impact. The pilot had a total of 106 flight hours in Beech A100 aircraft, all in the 90 days prior to the accident, and 56 hours in the 30 days prior to the accident.

History of flight

On August 4, 1994, about 1605 eastern daylight time, a Beech A100, N7GA, registered to Westchester Air Inc., and piloted by David M. Becker, collided with the ground after takeoff from Harriman-And-West Airport, near Williamstown, Massachusetts. The airplane was destroyed, and the pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan had been filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR 91, as a positioning flight.

Several witnesses saw the airplane, after take off, flying to the left of the runway centerline, at a low altitude, and at a slow speed. The airplane was seen turning left prior to striking the ground with the left wing.

An aircraft technician, standing at the airport, watched N7GA take off and wrote:

...airplane took off as normal....about 100 feet above runway, I heard at least one prop change pitch and saw the wing drop and the nose come up and the plane sway towards his left...the landing gear then appeared to go up, but he still was not climbing...the plane took a left turn and started heading behind a hill....

Several of the witnesses agreed that the engine sounds were not the same as the sounds they were accustomed to hearing. They described the engine sounds as being, "loud and surging," "unusually loud," and that the engines were, "not running properly."

Two witnesses sitting in their backyard wrote:

...we first heard and saw the plane flying very low just above the trees to the northeast...the plane was flying much slower and lower then normal and it was laboring to gain altitude...visual size of the plane appeared to be much larger...indicating that it was closer to us than planes we see in the normal flight path. We have watched planes take off from the airport for 30 years...the plane was about level but to the north of a group of willow trees to the NNE. At this point we could see the left (port) engine propeller was turning very slowly. You could actually see the individual blades of the propeller turning. The plane continued without gaining much altitude...we then heard the engine briefly surge and throttle-up. The plane then veered to the southwest [left]. At this point we lost visual contact....

The airplane had undergone a 150 hour inspection and routine maintenance for slow acceleration on the right engine. According to maintenance records the inspection was completed, and the fuel controls were changed from the right engine to the left engine. The airplane was released back to the pilot for service, and he departed for his home station.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight approximately 42 degrees, 41 minutes north, and 73 degrees, 11 minutes west.

Personnel information

Mr. David M. Becker held Airline Transport Pilot Certificate, No. 1863288, with mutiengine, single engine land, and instrument airplane ratings. Mr. Becker was type rated in the Cessna500, and LearJet and was also a ground instructor for advanced instruments.

Mr. Becker was issued a First Class Airman Medical Certificate on June 1, 1994, with no limitations.

Company records showed Mr. Becker's total flight hours at the time of the accident were 10,200, of which 106 hours were in Beechcraft A100 aircraft. According to company records, Mr. Becker had flown 106 hours in N7GA in the 90 days prior to the accident and 56 hours in N7GA in the 30 days prior to the accident. Mr. Becker flew the airplane two days before the accident and did not fly it again until departure from Williamstown the day of the accident.

On May 21, 1994, Mr. Becker satisfactorily completed a proficiency check in a Beech 200, simulator, at Flight Safety Inc., Wichita, Kansas.

Aircraft information

In a telephone conversation, on August 18, 1994, Mr. Jeff Beisiegel, a mechanic, at Turboprop, Inc., told the NTSB investigator-in-charge, that he was one of the mechanics who worked on N7GA. Mr. Beisiegel submitted a written statement, in which he wrote:

[The] initial pilot squawk [was] "Engines need rigging"...I did the initial engine run before inspection began...the following are the squawks...right engine slow to accelerate...power levers mismatched...blade angles high (ground and flight)...unable to reach max torque...max N2 RPM low- 30 RPM left, 50 RPM Right....

According Mr. Beisiegel, he "swapped the left and right fuel controls." At the same time he, "adjusted the slow accelerating fuel control," which was now on the left side, from "the +1 to the +3 max allowable setting." He also set the engine controls to their static dimensions as "found in the Beech KA-100 Maintenance Manual, Chapters 61 and 76."

Mr. Beisiegel, told the IIC, that on the day of the accident the engines on N7GA were ground tested and ran for approximately "1 hour." The test was done using the "Beech Manual," and "no instrument readings were recorded." In addition no power run or "condition run" was performed. According to Mr. Beisiegel, the propeller "barrel nut" was adjusted in the hanger, and the propeller "beta nuts" were adjusted while the airplane was running.

On the morning of August 4, 1994, the same day as the accident, the engines were ground tested, and final adjustments to the engine rigging was made. Mr. Beisiegel wrote:

...the slow acceleration problem stayed with the fuel control but was now on the left...acceleration was greatly improved but still slower than the right engine. Left low Ng was adjusted to 60% (Right Ng O.K. at 61%). Max N2 RPM was adjusted to 2200 RPM. Prop blade angles at 2200 RPM were adjusted to the charts next; ground idle first, flight idle second. Left and right engine part-power checked and adjusted at this time. Only able to reach 95.3% Ng on right with part- power stops in place. (97.1 target) Red line torque could not be made at this setting. (50-75 ft/lbs low of red line torque)...adjusted left power lever input arm to match up power levers. (At this time the left engine power lever input arm was replaced due to wear in the hole of the arm. Replaced with new arm).... One last run was made verifying the numbers, torques etc. Engines were safety wired and cotter pinned as required.

Under the supervision of the FAA, a test was conducted on the propeller system to determine, if the system was adjusted or rigged improperly, could the proximity/magnetic switch, and flight idle stop fail in flight.

To facilitate the test and to simulate an engine run, a similar Beech A100, was used. Air was used instead of oil, the airplane was placed on jacks, and the propeller beta nuts were adjusted two turns outward.

According to the FAA's report, the results of the test indicated that it was possible for the propeller proximity/magnetic switch, and flight idle stop to fail in flight, and the propeller blades go to the "feathered position."

The propeller circuit breaker and proximity/magnetic switch on N7GA were damaged at impact, and were not functionally tested. The post crash fire precluded any determination of the position of the propeller governor circuit breaker.

Medical and pathological information

An autopsy was performed on Mr. David Becker, on August 4, 1994, at the Medical Examiner's Office, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, by Dr. Daniel Carter.

The toxicological tests were conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA), Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and revealed, "... no drugs or alcohol where found."

Wreckage and impact information

The wreckage was examined at the accident site on August 5-6, 1994. The airplane impacted in a open field 1.2 miles from the airport, on a heading from the airpor