Accident Summary
The multiengine airplane descended in a nose-down attitude while spinning and collided with flat level terrain. The accident occurred just after sunset during civil twilight in good visual meteorological conditions. Both occupants were pilots who were ejected during the impact sequence; their seating positions could not be determined. A ground witness at the airport reported that he recognized the owner in the right seat as the airplane passed his location. Based on available information, investigators could not ascertain who was the flying pilot at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and family and friends of both pilots were not aware that the men had intended to fly that day, nor what the purpose of any flight would have been.
Pilot Information
The airplane owner held an airline transport pilot certificate with a multiengine rating and a certified flight instructor certificate with a single engine rating. The passenger held a private pilot certificate with a single engine land rating.
Witness Observations
Airborne witnesses observed the accident airplane in turning maneuvers but noted no apparent problems with the airplane. They did not see the accident occur; however, when they looked back towards the area where the accident airplane had been maneuvering, they observed the flashing lights of fire trucks on the ground. A ground witness reported that he saw an airplane spinning in a nose-down attitude out of the corner of his eye. When he looked at the airplane, it made two more tight turns and then dropped out of his line of sight. The next thing he saw was a dust cloud.
Aircraft Examination
Both engines were buried into the ground at a 70-degree angle to the horizontal, and the fuselage was torsionally twisted to the left over its entire length. The airframe and engines were inspected with no mechanical anomalies noted that would have precluded normal operation.