History of Flight
On April 27, 2010, about 1226 eastern daylight time, a Beech 58, N1856S, crashed in the Daniel Boone National Forest near Bear Branch, Kentucky, during an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight from Frederick Municipal Airport, Maryland, to Olive Branch Airport, Mississippi. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an IFR flight plan was filed. The pilot/owner and passenger were killed.
The pilot was in communication and radar contact with the Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center. He requested a higher altitude due to weather and climbed to 12,000 feet. About 10 minutes later, he reported problems with the airspeed indicator and requested a lower altitude. During descent, he continued reporting airspeed issues. His last transmission stated, "just went down like an absolute rock ----don't know what happened." At 1225, radar contact was lost at about 5,000 feet. A search located the wreckage at 1930 in dense forest.
Witnesses at the bottom of a hill heard an airplane flying south then north, with engines surging slowly. They then heard a loud noise, and the engines stopped. Weather at the time was reported as extremely low clouds, mist, and rain.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 68, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single-engine, multiengine, and instrument. He had a third-class medical with a limitation to wear glasses. His logbook showed 1,545 total hours, 104 in the accident airplane, and 14 instrument hours. The passenger held no FAA certificates.
Aircraft Information
The 1981 Beech 58, Baron, serial number TH-1300, was a six-place, twin-engine, low-wing airplane with retractable gear. It had two Continental IO-520-CB engines and Hartzell three-bladed propellers. It was equipped with anti-ice systems, de-ice boots, and onboard weather radar. The last annual inspection was May 14, 2009, at 5,840 total hours.
Meteorological Information
Weather observation from Julian Carroll Airport, 30 miles north, at 1153 reported wind variable at 5 knots, visibility 5 miles in light rain and mist, scattered clouds at 800 feet, overcast at 3,600 feet. A cold front with extensive clouds and precipitation was over the route. The area was under AIRMET Zulu for moderate icing from 5,000 to 16,000 feet. The pilot had obtained a preflight briefing including the icing AIRMET. Satellite and radar data indicated favorable icing conditions along the flight path.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was at 37°11.490′N, 83°30.753′W, on a 30-degree slope, heading 176°, nose low. The forward fuselage was crushed aft; both engines were in 3-foot craters. Both propellers were not feathered and at low pitch, indicating low to no power at impact. De-ice boots were inflated. Flight controls were continuous; separations due to overload. Fuel was present. The emergency locator transmitter did not activate initially but worked when switched to armed mode.
Medical and Pathological Information
Postmortem examination determined the cause of death for both occupants as blunt force trauma. Toxicology on the pilot detected chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, irbesartan, metoprolol, and naproxen; no ethanol. The pilot had reported some medications but not chlorpheniramine or diphenhydramine. No ethanol was detected in the passenger.