History of Flight
On June 15, 2008, about 1310 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P337H, registration N15EM, was presumed destroyed when it descended from cruise flight and impacted the Atlantic Ocean approximately 18 miles east of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The certificated private pilot and a passenger were killed. Instrument conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the personal flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight had departed Millinocket Municipal Airport (MLT), Millinocket, Maine, destined for Essex County Airport (CDW), Caldwell, New Jersey.
The pilot owned the airplane, which was based at CDW. According to the MLT airport supervisor, the pilot and his wife arrived on June 12, 2008. The airplane was refueled with 64 gallons of 100-low-lead aviation gasoline and placed inside a hangar until the morning of the accident.
At 0916 on the day of the accident, the pilot contacted the Kankakee automated flight service station. He was informed that flight under visual flight rules (VFR) was not recommended, and after obtaining a weather briefing, he filed an IFR flight plan from MLT to CDW with a proposed departure time of 1100.
The airplane departed MLT under VFR and contacted Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center at 1228. The pilot informed the controller that he had previously filed an IFR flight plan but was having trouble with the artificial horizon, so he would try to make the flight VFR. At 1244, the pilot requested and received an IFR clearance to CDW. The airplane was at about 8,000 feet mean sea level when the pilot contacted Naval Air Station (NAS) Brunswick Approach Control around 1250. No problems were reported, and the flight progressed under IFR until radar and radio communications were lost at approximately 1310.
Radar data from NAS Brunswick revealed that the airplane's track consisted of several alternating turns to the southwest and northwest, with a turn to the southeast immediately prior to loss of radar contact. The airplane maintained altitude between 7,900 and 8,200 feet, except for the last recorded altitude of 7,200 feet.
The United States Coast Guard responded to the area near the last radar target and observed an oil/fuel slick on the ocean. Small portions consistent with the airplane's interior were recovered from the water surface. The water depth at the accident site was estimated at about 250 feet. As of the report date, no additional portions of the airplane had been recovered.
Pilot Information
The pilot, age 72, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land (limited to center thrust), and an instrument airplane rating. A logbook provided by his son showed that as of January 29, 2005, he had logged about 2,145 total flight hours, including about 1,620 hours in multiengine airplanes, 250 hours in actual instrument conditions, and 215 hours in simulated instrument conditions. On his most recent FAA third-class medical application dated March 26, 2007, he reported 2,500 total flight hours.
Aircraft Information
The airplane, serial number P3370317, was manufactured in 1978 as a pressurized, all-metal, high-wing, multiengine airplane. It was powered by two Teledyne Continental Motors TSIO-360-C5 series engines installed in tandem, each equipped with a McCauley propeller assembly and an engine-driven vacuum pump. The pilot purchased the airplane on March 22, 1980.
Maintenance records showed its most recent annual inspection was conducted on December 20, 2007, at a total airframe time of 2,072 hours. At that time, the front engine had about 270 hours since new, and the rear engine had about 900 hours since overhaul. The only logbook entry after the annual inspection was dated April 8, 2008, for rear engine work at about 2,085 hours. The most recent pitot-static system check was performed on December 13, 2006.
Meteorological Information
A weather observation taken at 1306 at an airport about 25 miles west-northwest of the accident site reported: wind from 110 degrees at 6 knots; visibility 7 miles; few clouds at 500 feet, scattered at 1,000 feet, overcast at 1,500 feet; temperature 14°C, dew point 12°C; altimeter 29.84 inHg. Weather radar imagery depicted the airplane flying through an area of 15 to 30 dBZ echoes (light intensity) at the time of the accident. Portland WSR-88D (NEXRAD) imagery for the accident altitude revealed instrument meteorological conditions with light to moderate precipitation.
Medical and Pathological Information
Autopsies performed on June 16, 2008, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Augusta, Maine, indicated the cause of death for both occupants as blunt force trauma, with the manner of death ruled an accident. Toxicological testing was conducted on the pilot by the FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team.