SEA96FA094

The owner and flight instructor were advised by a ramp service agent of a fuel leak coming from the underside of the right engine after starting the left engine. The left engine was shut down and one of the pilots examined the leak and then re-entered the aircraft. The aircraft's left engine was then restarted followed by the right engine, and then the aircraft was taxied out for takeoff. The first takeoff was aborted for undetermined reasons. The aircraft then departed. Approximately 40 minutes later a radio transmission from the aircraft indicated an engine fire. The aircraft was witnessed diving toward the surface of Utah Lake and then skipping over the water before disappearing in a plume of spray. The aircraft crashed approximately two miles northwest of the Provo Municipal airport in 12 feet of water. Postcrash examination revealed an extensive fire in the right engine accessory area and aft into the wing locker area. Metallurgical examination of the right engine exhaust manifold components revealed erosion, oxidization, pitting, cracking and holes in areas of the exhaust tubing.

History of flight

On May 15, 1996, approximately 0824 hours mountain daylight time, a Cessna 320A, N600JR, being flown by a certificated flight instructor, accompanied by the owner, a recently multi-engine rated private pilot, was destroyed during collision with water during a descent. The accident site was approximately two miles northwest of the Provo Municipal airport, Provo, Utah, and in Utah Lake. The pilot/owner and flight instructor were both fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was reportedly to have been instructional, was to have been operated under 14CFR91, and originated from the Salt Lake City International airport at 0750 hours.

A ramp service agent employed by Million Air at the Salt Lake City International airport was interviewed and reported the following circumstances:

On the morning of May 15, 1996, he observed N600JR being prepped for flight and stood by to marshal the aircraft as it started up and taxied out. He reported that the left engine was started first and that before the right engine was started he observed fuel "running" out of the right engine cowling (refer to photograph 01). He reported that the fuel was coming from the area between the exhaust pipe shield and the wastegate exhaust dump pipe (refer to photograph 02) and that he motioned for the pilot(s) to shut down and advised them of the condition. He reported that one of the pilots exited the aircraft, looked at the area of the leak and then re-entered the aircraft requesting a fire extinguisher prior to further start attempts. The aircraft was subsequently restarted, left engine first, followed by the right engine. The ramp service agent reported that by the time the aircraft taxied out from its parked location, fuel had pooled on the ramp beneath the right engine and had run into a nearby storm drain (refer to photograph 03).

On May 21st, the investigative team was shown the site where the aircraft had been parked on the morning of the accident by the ramp service agent. The team observed a significant, oval area of stained asphalt. The distance between the center of the stain and the west edge of the storm drain was measured to be 55 feet with a slight downhill slope toward the drain. The center of the area displayed degradation and softening of the asphalt with exposed aggregate pebbles. Directly aft of the stained area was an oblate shaped, unstained area consistent with an aircraft tire in contact with the asphalt (refer to photograph 04).

A re-recording of communications with N600JR was reviewed by the investigator in charge and related the following events:

At 0730, N600JR contacted the Salt Lake City International airport ground control east controller and was instructed to taxi to runway 17. At 0739, N600JR was issued a takeoff clearance on runway 17. At 0740, N600JR advised that he would be clearing (the runway) at taxiway "Kilo seven" (refer to DIAGRAM I) and would be taxiing back to the runup area.

At 0745, N600JR requested a change of destination from Tooele to Provo and at 0750, was cleared for takeoff on runway 17. The aircraft was passed off to departure control and the last recorded radio contact was at 0759, when N600JR was instructed to change his transponder to 1200 and advised that radar service was terminated two miles north of "The Point of the Mountain" (approximately 18 nautical miles northwest of the Provo airport). A formal FAA air traffic package was requested but was not provided (refer to ATTACHMENT AT-I).

Radar targets believed to be associated with N600JR were recorded by the Salt Lake Air Route Traffic Control Center and showed the aircraft initially at 40 degrees 13.73 minutes north latitude and 111 degrees 48.67 minutes west longitude at 0807:26 hours, and finally at 40 degrees 14.35 minutes north latitude and 111 degrees 49.50 minutes west longitude at 0822:35. A mode "C" altitude readout was received for the last 22 radar hits and showed a relatively consistent -2400 foot per minute rate of descent during the last seven radar targets (last 60 seconds previous to the 0807:35 target).

The assistant airport manager at Provo was interviewed and reported hearing a radio call on Unicom whereby a pilot identified his aircraft as 600JR and reported an engine fire (refer to Communications Information below).

There were two known witnesses to the accident. The first witness described seeing the aircraft from a distance of 2.5 to 3 miles (refer to attached statement and map) and diving at "about a 70 degree angle." A second witness, who was interviewed but provided no written statement and was located at a campground between the northern boundary of the Provo airport and the boat harbor (refer to CHART I), reported hearing what she thought was a jetski and observed the aircraft wings level and impacting the lake's surface, then skipping several time before disappearing in a large plume of spray. She reported that her view of the aircraft was sideways and that the aircraft was traveling relatively flat above the surface of the lake. She also reported that she thought she saw flames and smoke coming from the aircraft but wasn't certain. She described the impact with the water as "like a loud slap."

Personnel information

First Pilot Information

The 32 year old first pilot held both a commercial and flight instructor's (CFI) certificate. His CFI certificate included both single and multi-engine ratings as well airplane instrument. The first pilot's flight time was acquired from a personal flight log opened on December 22, 1994, with 181.5 hours of total flight time carried forward (all single-engine). The log's last entry was recorded May 14, 1996, and the log's tally showed a total of 1253.1 hours of flight time, of which 1197.9 hours were pilot in command, 302.1 hours where instructor, and 201.8 hours were multi-engine.

The first pilot's log showed four flights in the Cessna 320A (all in N660JR) during which he logged a total of 4.2 hours (all pilot in command).

Second Pilot Information

The 29 year old second pilot and owner of the aircraft, held a commercial pilot's certificate. According to records maintained by the FAA, he acquired a multi-engine rating on March 21, 1996. His total flight time, as of his most recent medical, dated October 4, 1994, was 275 hours.

The first pilot's logbook showed two logged flight references to the second pilot. Both were remarked as "safety pilot (for the second pilot) and both were conducted in N600JR on 04/30/96 and 05/08/96 respectively. There were no other references to the second pilot noted within the first pilot's logbook.

It was not possible to accurately establish which pilot, the owner or the CFI, served as pilot-in-command (PIC) of the accident flight. For the purposes of data retrieval and report consistency, the CFI was designated as the first pilot and the owner as the second pilot.

Aircraft information

According to documentation (the pink copy of FAA Form 8050-1), the aircraft, a 1963 Cessna 320A, was purchased by the owner on April 24, 1996, and flown from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Salt Lake City. The aircraft's most recent airframe logbook showed the aircraft having undergone an annual inspection on November 1, 1994, at a total time of 4432.1 hours. The logbooks showed another annual inspection conducted November 15, 1995, at a total time of 4471.1 hours. The final entry within the logbook showed the aircraft having undergone another annual inspection on April 13, 1996, at a total of 4472.1 hours. All three of these annuals were signed off by the same mechanic, who possessed an IA (inspection authorization).

Additionally, an Airworthiness Directive (AD) signoff listing for the aircraft showed that both AD 72-14-08R1 (refer to ATTACHMENT AD-I) and 75-23-08R5C (refer to ATTACHMENT AD-II) had been complied with during the inspection conducted a