SEA08FA042

The pilot removed the airplane from a hangar that was kept heated to about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and parked it on the ramp while awaiting the arrival of the passengers. The outside temperature was below freezing, and a steady light to moderate snow was falling. The airplane sat in the aforementioned ambient conditions for at least 45 minutes before the initiation of the takeoff roll. Prior to attempting the takeoff, the pilot did not remove the accumulated snow or the snow that had melted on the warm airframe and then refroze as ice. The surviving passengers said that the takeoff ground run was longer than normal and the airplane lifted off at 100 knots indicated and momentarily touched back down, and then lifted off again. Almost immediately after it lifted off the second time, the airplane rolled into a steep right bank severe enough that the surviving passengers thought that the wing tip might contact the ground. As the pilot continued the takeoff initial climb, the airplane repeatedly rolled rapidly to a steep left and right bank angle several times and did not seem to be climbing. The airplane was also shuddering, and to the passengers it felt like it may have stalled or dropped. The pilot then lowered the nose and appeared to attain level flight. The pilot made a left turn of about 180 degrees to a downwind for the takeoff runway. During this turn the airplane reportedly again rolled to a steeper than normal bank angle, but the pilot successfully recovered. When the pilot initiated a left turn toward the end of the runway, the airplane again began to shake, shudder, and yaw, and started to rapidly lose altitude. Although the pilot appeared to push the throttles full forward soon after initiating the turn, the airplane began to sink at an excessive rate, and continued to do so until it struck a hangar approximately 1,300 feet southwest of the approach end of runway 35. No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures were identified in examinations of the wreckage and engines.

History of flight

On December 10, 2007, about 0755 mountain standard time, a Beech King Air 200, N925TT, collided with a hangar while attempting an emergency landing at Lemhi County Airport, Salmon, Idaho. The impact took place about five minutes after the flight took off from the same airport. The commercial pilot and the passenger in the right front seat were killed in the accident, and two other passengers were uninjured. The airplane, which was owned and operated by QB Corporation, of Salmon, Idaho, was destroyed by the impact and the post-crash fire. The 14 CFR Part 91 corporate/executive flight was departing for Boise, Idaho, to pick up another passenger before proceeding on to Las Vegas, Nevada. Snow was falling at the time of the takeoff, and the pilot had received his departure clearance for his previously-filed Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan. There was no report of an ELT activation.

On the day of the accident, the pilot arrived at the private hangar in which the airplane was kept at an undetermined time prior to 0700. When the first passenger arrived at the hangar about 0700, the airplane was already sitting on the ramp in front of the hangar, and the main hangar doors were fully open. According to this passenger, a light to moderate snow was falling, and when he briefly entered the airplane he noticed that the inside of the airplane was warm.

This passenger brought breakfast for himself and the pilot, so the two of them went into the hangar to eat. About 0720 the pilot closed the main hangar doors. The main hangar doors were kept closed, with the airplane outside, until they were partially reopened in order to put the vehicles of the other two passengers inside after they arrived. Reportedly, the second passenger arrived about 0735, and the last passenger arrived a little over five minutes prior to the time the pilot taxied for a departure to the north.

At 0747, the pilot contacted Salt Lake Air Traffic Control Center via radio while still on the ground at Salmon. At that time he advised the controller that it would be about three more minutes before he departed, and he requested his Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) clearance to Boise. The controller cleared him to the Boise airport "as filed," advised him to climb and maintain Flight Level 180, and told him to report when he was airborne. The pilot read back the clearance, and advised the controller that he would call him once airborne. The takeoff roll on runway 35 was estimated to have begun between 0748 and 0750. The pilot did not make post-takeoff contact with the Center controller.

According to the passengers, initially the sound of the engines and the rest of the takeoff sequence seemed normal, except that the takeoff ground run distance seemed a little longer than they had expected. Then, according to one of the passengers, who from his forward-facing position in the back could see the airspeed indicator, around 100 knots the pilot rotated the airplane for takeoff. The airplane then lifted off, momentarily touched back down, and lifted off again. Almost immediately after it lifted off the second time, the airplane rolled into a steep right bank. The angle of bank was severe enough that the surviving passengers thought that the wing tip might contact the ground. As the pilot continued the takeoff-to-initial-climb sequence, the airplane rolled rapidly to a steep left or right bank angle several times. Each time it momentarily recovered, but would then roll again. According to the passengers, during this sequence of events the airplane did not seem to be climbing. Eventually, after what was estimated to be 30 seconds or longer, the rapid banking began to diminish, and the pilot appeared to push the throttles to the full-forward position and increase the airplane’s pitch attitude. This resulted in the airplane shuddering, and to the passengers it felt like it may have stalled or dropped. The pilot then lowered the nose and appeared to maintain level flight. That action seemed to reduce the shuddering, but the airplane’s nose reportedly yawed from side to side.

Soon after the nose was lowered and the shuddering was reduced, the pilot made a left turn of about 180 degrees to a ground track that paralleled the runway with the airplane heading back to the south. During this turn the airplane reportedly again rolled to a steeper than normal bank angle, but the pilot successfully rolled out on what was essentially a low-level downwind on the west side of the airport. According to both witnesses on the ground and the surviving passengers, the most northerly portion of this left turn took the airplane over the southern edge of the town of Salmon, which is located about four miles north of the airport.

While on the downwind, the airplane reportedly stabilized in a wings-level position without any significant rolling or shuddering. When the airplane was about adjacent to Airport Road, which is about one-quarter mile south of the runway 35 threshold, the pilot initiated a left turn toward the end of the runway. The passengers reported that as soon as the pilot initiated the turn, the airplane again began to shake, shudder, and yaw, and started to lose altitude. Although the pilot appeared to push the throttles full forward soon after initiating the turn, the airplane began to sink at an excessive rate, and continued to do so until it struck a hangar approximately 1,300 feet southwest of the approach end of runway 35. Just prior to impacting the hangar the airplane began to roll further to the left.

After the airplane impacted the hangar and came to a stop, the two passengers in the rear where able to exit the airplane by getting the air-stair entry door to partially open. Almost immediately after the impact, the front portion of the airplane caught on fire, and the fire quickly worked its way aft. According to the two surviving passengers, it sounded and appeared to them that both of engines continued to produce a significant amount of power for a short period after they were able to exit the airplane.

Personnel information

The pilot was a 61-year-old male who held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land (ASEL), airplane multi-engine land (AMEL), and flight solely by reference to instruments. He held a second class medical certificate with limitations for vision. At his last medical, which occurred on February 20, 2007, he reported a total flying time of 14,200 hours, with 300 hours having been accumulated in the previous six months. Although the pilot's log book was not recovered, records provided by QB Corporation indicated that he had accumulated about 75 hours of flight time in the King Air 200 in the 90 days prior to the accident, 15 of which took place during flight training. The pilot's King Air B200 Initial Course was completed at SIMCOM Training Centers on July 19, 2007.

Meteorological information

According to witnesses, on the morning of the accident there were numerous snow showers of varying intensity moving through the area around Salmon. Reportedly, most of the showers were of light to moderate intensity, but occasionally heavy snow was falling. About 0615, when the pilot called the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to file his flight plan, he (the pilot) mentioned that the temperature in Salmon was about ten degrees and there was a "little bit of snow."

During the investigation, the Investigator-In-charge (IIC) interviewed an individual who lived about one-quarter mile southwest of the accident site. That individual stated that he came out to shovel his sidewalk about 0730, and that snow was falling steadily but not heavily. According to this individual, by the time the airplane passed over his residence just before impacting the hangar, the snow was falling very hard. He further stated that although the snow "let up" soon after the accident, when he went to the area of the crash si