History of Flight
On November 23, 2009, at 0234 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-30, registration N8923Y, operated by a private owner under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight, collided with trees while descending in mountainous terrain near Rainelle, West Virginia. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial pilot was killed. Night marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The flight departed Kennett Memorial Airport (TKX), Kennett, Missouri, at 1727 central standard time, destined for Stafford Regional Airport (RMN), Stafford, Virginia. The airplane did not arrive and was reported missing on November 28, 2009. The wreckage was located by the West Virginia Civil Air Patrol on December 1, 2009.
Radar data from Fort Worth Center showed the airplane initially departed Dalhart Municipal Airport (DHT), Dalhart, Texas, at 1727 CST. After landing at TKX at 2118 CST, it departed again and was observed at 4,800 feet northeast of TKX at 2248 CST. The last radar contact by Indianapolis Center showed the airplane flying a serpentine course, climbing from 3,300 to 3,900 feet, then descending to 3,300 feet before contact was lost.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 52, held a commercial pilot certificate issued April 8, 2004, with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land, helicopter, and instrument airplane, and a second-class medical certificate issued October 2, 2009, with no restrictions. On his medical application he reported 1,575 total flight hours.
According to the previous owner, who sold the airplane to the pilot on August 28, 2009, the pilot had 50 hours of multiengine time in Beech airplanes and no flight time in the PA-30. He obtained 1 hour 30 minutes of flight instruction from a certified flight instructor (CFI) at DHT before departing.
Pilot logbooks found at the crash site indicated 1,672.9 total flight hours, including 1,336.1 hours in single-engine land, 61.0 hours in multiengine land, 7.3 hours in the PA-30 after a checkout on November 22 and 23, 2009, 215 hours of night flight (last night flight October 18, 2009), 179.2 hours of actual instrument flight (last instrument flight December 29, 1991), and 268.5 hours of helicopter time. He logged 24.5 hours in the last 90 days, 14.7 hours in the last 30 days (8.8 hours in the PA-30 including the accident flight), and his last flight review was November 15, 2009.
Aircraft Information
The four-seat, multiengine, low-wing monoplane, serial number 30-1996, was manufactured in 1969. It was powered by two Lycoming IO-320-C1A, 160-horsepower engines and equipped with Hartzell constant-speed propellers. The last annual inspection was performed on November 20, 2009; at that time, tachometer times were 810.8 hours (left) and 1,668.64 hours (right). The right tachometer at the accident site indicated 1,677.54 hours. The airplane had flown 8.75 hours since the inspection, and total airframe time was 8,566.15 hours.
Both engines were overhauled on July 7, 1991; the left had 1,964.44 hours since overhaul, the right 1,945.58 hours. New cylinders were installed on both engines on November 12, 2008. The airplane was topped off with 61.7 gallons of 100 low lead fuel before departing TKX.
Meteorological Information
At 0934 CST, the pilot obtained a full DUATS weather briefing, which included a TAF for Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO), Charlottesville, Virginia, about 110 nautical miles east of the accident site. The TAF forecasted at 0100 EST a ceiling of 700 feet overcast, visibility 2 miles in mist, and at 0400 EST a ceiling of 500 feet overcast, visibility 1 mile in rain and mist.
Weather along the route was VMC until entering Kentucky and West Virginia, where it changed to marginal VMC with low ceilings and rain showers. The closest reporting stations were Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW), Beckley, West Virginia (22 miles southwest, elevation 2,504 feet), and Greenbrier Valley Airport (LWB), Lewisburg, West Virginia (24 miles southeast, elevation 2,302 feet). Both reported marginal VFR conditions in light to moderate rain with broken to overcast ceilings between 1,300 and 1,500 feet above ground level.
The BKW observation at 0151 reported wind from 120 degrees at 11 knots gusting to 20 knots, visibility 4 miles, moderate rain and mist, broken ceiling at 4,900 feet, overcast at 6,000 feet, temperature 5°C, dew point 4°C, altimeter 30.15 inHg. Remarks indicated peak winds of 29 knots within the hour and 0.04 inches of rainfall. At 0251, rain ended and ceiling was 1,300 feet.
LWB at 0223 reported wind from 100 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 7 miles in light rain, overcast ceiling at 1,500 feet, temperature 7°C, dew point 5°C, altimeter 30.20 inHg. The National Weather Service radar at Blacksburg, Virginia, showed light intensity echoes (25-30 dBz) over the accident site.
Astronomical conditions for Rainelle indicated nighttime with no moon illumination; the moon had set at 2120 the previous day. Sunset was at 1707, end of twilight at 1735, and the moon was a waxing crescent with 30% illumination.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was found in rising, mountainous terrain at an elevation of 2,400 feet msl near the Greenbrier/Fayette County line off Russellville Road. The airplane initially struck trees about 50 feet above the ground on a heading of 120 degrees magnetic. Twenty-seven feet along a descending crash debris line (CDL), a tree showed impact marks consistent with left wing separation. A ground scar with left fuselage material began 87 feet along the CDL. The airplane came to rest inverted on a heading of 010 degrees magnetic, 123 feet from the start of the CDL.
No fuel or fuel odor was present at the site. The left and right main, auxiliary, and tip fuel tanks were ruptured.
Examination revealed no airframe anomalies. Flight control continuity was confirmed to all surfaces except the right aileron, whose cable had separated from the bell crank in an overload pattern.
The right propeller assembly separated behind the crankshaft flange; the dome and spinner were separated, crushed, and fragmented. One blade was rotated 80 degrees leading edge forward, bent and twisted, with the outboard 4 inches missing. The other blade was rotated 80 degrees leading edge aft, bent and twisted 18 inches outboard, with chord-wise scoring and gouges, and the tip partially separated 8 inches outboard.
Examination of the right engine and accessories revealed no anomalies. Both magnetos produced spark when rotated. The fuel injector servo screen was clean, fuel nozzles unobstructed, the engine-driven fuel pump produced pressure when rotated, and fuel was present in hoses and the injector servo. The fuel flow divider contained fuel. The vacuum pump drive coupling was fractured; the rotor and vanes were intact. Oil screen and filter were clean. The engine was rotated by hand, producing compression and suction on all cylinders; valve train and crankshaft continuity were confirmed. Cylinder interiors showed no anomalies via borescope. The turbocharger compressor housing was fractured and the compressor wheel could not be rotated; the exhaust bypass wheel was crushed.
The left propeller assembly also separated behind the crankshaft flange; the spinner was crushed around the hub and partially separated. Both blades remained attached; one was rotated 90 degrees leading edge forward, bent aft inboard and forward outboard. The other blade was twisted 90 degrees leading edge aft, curved aft, twisted, with leading and trailing edge gouges.
Examination of the left engine revealed no anomalies. Both magnetos produced spark. Fuel system components were unobstructed and contained fuel. The vacuum pump drive coupling was intact; rotor and vanes intact. Oil screen had a small amount of black debris; filter media was clean. The engine produced compression and suction when rotated; continuity confirmed. Cylinder interiors normal. The turbocharger compressor housing was intact and the wheel rotated freely; light brown exhaust deposits on the turbine wheel. The exhaust bypass valve was not damaged, but the control cable was not attached.
Medical and Pathological Information
A postmortem examination by the Charleston West Virginia State Medical Examiner on December 2, 2009, listed the cause of death as multiple injuries. Toxicology tests by the FAA detected ethanol at 19 mg/dL in muscle (putrefaction noted), but no ethanol or drugs in the liver. Tests for carbon monoxide and cyanide were not performed.
Additional Information
The pilot checked into a hotel in Amarillo, Texas, on November 19, 2009, at 1620, without a wakeup call. He checked out on November 22, 2009, at 1234, drove to Amarillo International Airport (AMA), and returned a rental car.
The CFI who provided training stated that he picked up the pilot at AMA and flew to DHT for instruction. The pilot said he wanted to depart for Virginia; the CFI suggested staying overnight, but the pilot responded that if he didn't get started the weather would be too bad in the eastern part of his trip. The pilot later told the CFI he would land and stay overnight in Missouri, but informed a mechanic he would fly the entire trip that night.