What happened
During a takeoff roll from runway 13, the aircraft's left engine lost power after reaching approximately 200 feet above ground level. At that moment, the aircraft had accelerated to roughly 125 knots with the landing gear and flaps fully retracted. The pilot decided to abort the departure and maneuvered the aircraft to attempt a landing on runway 9.
The aircraft touched down in the grass beyond the intersection of runways 9 and 13, traveling at a heading of approximately 110 degrees. After rolling across a taxiway, the nose gear collapsed. The impact caused the aircraft to nose over, resulting in both propellers striking the ground. Shortly thereafter, the right engine mounts failed, and reports indicated the aircraft lurched as the right engine folded beneath the wing.
A passenger, whose seat belt was not properly secured, was thrown from their seat and sustained injuries. The passenger also reported that no preflight safety briefing was provided before takeoff.
The investigation
Examination of the left auxiliary fuel tank, along with the associated fuel lines and strainer for the left engine, revealed the presence of water and products of corrosion. These contaminants likely contributed to the loss of power in the left engine.
An audit of the company's crew training records and aircraft maintenance logs uncovered numerous omissions, improper entries, and a failure to document purported maintenance activities. These documentation errors were found to have occurred both prior to and continued after the Federal Aviation Administration approved the issuance of an Air Carrier Operations Certificate for the company.