WPR18FA219

While descending toward the destination airport for landing, the private pilot made a "mayday" call and reported to air traffic control that he had "no throttle, no engine at all." Witnesses saw the airplane flying about 30 to 40 ft above ground level when it turned and descended into a flat, open field adjacent to a highway. Wreckage examination revealed that the airplane likely stalled and impacted the terrain in a nose and left-wing low attitude. Postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies with the flight controls that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, the pilot failed to maintain control of the airplane on approach to a relatively benign emergency landing area. Postaccident examination did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies that would have precluded the production of rated engine power and fuel was onboard. Although impact damage precluded a test run of the engine, teardown examination revealed no anomalies with the engine or its internal components. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined based on the available information.

On August 12, 2018, about 1345 Pacific daylight time, a Beech A36TC airplane, N136RM, impacted terrain near Sylmar, California, after declaring an emergency while approaching Whiteman Airport (WHP), Los Angeles, California. The private pilot was fatally injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to the pilot, who was operating it as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which originated from Placerville Airport, (PVF), Placerville, California, about 1200 and was destined for WHP. Review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control transcripts revealed that, as the pilot was descending through 3,700 ft, and just after being instructed to contact the WHP tower controller, he made a mayday call. The pilot reported that the airplane was descending and that he was looking for a place to land. He stated that he was unable to make WHP because he had "no throttle, no engine at all." Witnesses reported that they saw the airplane flying southbound about 30 to 40 ft above the interstate when it turned east and descended below terrain into a nearby field. The Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, Los Angeles, California, performed an autopsy of the pilot and determined the cause of death to be blunt trauma. The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory performed forensic toxicology on specimens from the pilot with positive results for fexofenadine, losartan, and azacyclonol, none of which are considered a hazard to flight safety. The airplane came to rest in a field east of and adjacent to the interstate. The first identified point of impact was a strip of disturbed dirt with a fragment of grey paint. About halfway through the length of the disturbed dirt strip and to the right of the strip of dirt, was a paralleling disturbed strip of dirt, followed by a large disturbed area and the nose landing gear strut. Next, there was an approximate 80-ft section of mostly undisturbed grass with pieces of plexiglass, the left wingtip, and nose gear landing door scattered throughout the area. The main wreckage was located at the end of the debris path. The forward fuselage was heavily damaged; the airplane's engine, firewall, and instrument panel were fractured from the right side of the fuselage and bent to the left of the airplane; and the engine came to rest upside down. The front seats were exposed, and the remaining cabin area was mostly intact. The left wing was bent aft at the root and fractured midspan. The outboard section was bent aft underneath the inboard section and came to rest with the leading edge facing aft. The aft fuselage and empennage were mostly intact and undamaged. The right wing was mostly whole; however, the rear spar was fractured at the root and the forward portion of the wing was bent downward. Examination of the airframe revealed flight control continuity throughout the airframe.The flaps were in the retracted position, and the landing gear was in the extended position. About 12 gallons of fuel was removed from the right wing, and fuel was observed exiting the breached left main fuel tank during the recovery process. The fuel selector faceplate was fracture separated. The fuel selector was removed from the airframe and air was blown through the selector; it was positioned to the left main fuel tank. The engine remained mostly intact; the spark plugs were removed and exhibited normal operating signatures. The engine was rotated by hand and continuity was noted to the aft cylinders; in addition, the magnetos' distributor gears rotated. Borescope examination of the engine revealed normal operating signatures. The engine was prepared for shipment to the manufacturer for further examination. Due to impact-related damage, the engine could not be test run. A teardown examination of the engine revealed no pre-accident anomalies that would have precluded the production of rated power. The crankshaft was fractured aft of the propeller flange. The spark plugs, cylinders, and piston heads were removed and exhibited normal operating signatures. The turbocharger was removed and no scoring was noted on the impeller housing. The fuel pump sustained impact damage and could not be tested; all internal components exhibited normal operating wear signatures. The crankcase was split and the crankshaft, camshaft, piston arms, and journals were oily and did not exhibit abnormal or thermal signatures. The magnetos were removed and operated normally when installed onto a test bench. Both the throttle body/fuel metering unit and the fuel manifold operated when installed onto test benches.