History of Flight
On April 6, 2008, at approximately 1755 eastern daylight time, an SIAI-Marchetti SF-260, registration N601RH, impacted the water of Penobscot Bay while maneuvering near Belfast Municipal Airport (BST) in Belfast, Maine. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot, a certificated commercial pilot, was killed. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a local personal flight with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
A witness observed the airplane performing a "lazy barrel roll." While inverted, it pitched down toward the water and disappeared. Another witness saw the airplane start a "lazy climb" as if to enter the clouds, then heard a loud bang and could not reacquire the airplane. The sound was compared to an engine backfire but louder. The water depth was about 60 feet, and the airplane was not recovered. The landing gear and some seat cushions were recovered. A diver who recovered the pilot's body reported that everything forward of the rear seat was shredded, and the only recognizable aircraft part was the tailcone.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane, as well as a private pilot certificate with a single-engine sea rating. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on April 1, 2008. On his last medical application, he reported 3,600 total flight hours, with 30 hours in the previous 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was manufactured in Italy in 1971 and registered in the United States on January 3, 1985. It was powered by a Lycoming O-540-E4A5 engine (serial number L-12386-40). The most recent annual inspection on the airframe and engine was completed on January 18, 2008, at a tachometer time of 1,637.2 hours. The engine had 940 hours since major overhaul. A March 24, 2008 entry in the airframe logbook recorded an eddy current inspection of the lower bolt holes of the forward spar roots, spar connection plates, and center area on the lower spar connection plates, with no defects noted.
Meteorological Information
The 1755 recorded weather at Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) in Rockland, Maine, about 21 miles south of the accident site, included an overcast ceiling at 3,200 feet and visibility 10 miles.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The aircraft was located by a paint slick and oil sheen on the water. The Maine State Police dive team found wreckage scattered over an area approximately 80 feet in diameter. Divers attached a rope to the tail section, raised it to extract the pilot, then released it, allowing it to settle back. The tail section was later found half a mile from the main wreckage due to current drift during recovery.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy on April 8, 2008, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maine determined the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Post-mortem toxicological testing by the FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory was negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, and drugs.
Test and Research
FAA ATC radar data from Bangor, Maine, showed the aircraft climbing out of BST at 1753:06 at 500 feet msl, making a right turn, then tracking at 151 degrees magnetic, ascending to a maximum altitude of 1,900 feet msl. The last radar return at 1754:57 showed a ground track of 169 degrees magnetic at 150 knots, located at 44°24.0244'N, 68°57.4267'W, close to the wreckage site.
On July 22, 2008, a joint dive by the FBI ERT and MSP videotaped the wreckage. The tail section exhibited signs of tensile overload in the positive (upward) direction along the horizontal stabilizer. Similarly, the wing spars showed tensile overload in the positive (upward) direction.
Additional Information
The FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge notes that without visual horizon references, the inner ear's vestibular system can become unreliable, leading to spatial disorientation. The handbook states that a sloping cloud formation or obscured horizon can create a false horizon, potentially causing a pilot to place the aircraft in a dangerous attitude. FAA Advisory Circular 60-4A emphasizes that during low visibility or overwater flights, surface references may be lacking, and reliance on flight instruments is essential to maintain proper attitude. These documents were referenced in the investigation but not cited as causal.