History of Flight
On January 5, 2011, at approximately 1045 central standard time, a Columbia Aircraft LC41-550FG, registration N1393T, crashed following a loss of engine power after departing from Eagle's Nest Estates Airport (2TS6) in Midlothian, Texas. The flight was a personal cross-country operation under 14 CFR Part 91, destined for South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field (ELD) in El Dorado, Arkansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was owned and operated by Paradise Leasing Inc of Dover, Delaware.
A witness reported that the engine sounded normal until the airplane reached an altitude of 100 to 200 feet above ground level. Subsequently, the engine stalled, and dark smoke emerged from the airplane. The witness observed the airplane turning left with approximately 30 degrees of bank. As the airplane descended, the engine sounded as though it was attempting to restart before it collided with terrain.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 40, held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings. A second-class medical certificate was issued on August 17, 2010. According to logbook records, the pilot had accumulated over 1,000 total flight hours, with more than 800 hours in the accident airplane. A flight review was conducted on November 15, 2009, in the same airplane.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane, serial number 41675, was manufactured in 2006 by Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing. It was a four-seat, low-wing, fixed-gear design powered by a 310-horsepower Continental Motors TSIO-550-C engine driving a three-bladed Hartzell HC-H3YF-1RF constant-speed metal propeller. Maintenance records indicated that an annual inspection was completed on August 27, 2010, at an airframe and Hobbs meter time of 786.6 hours. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated 833.7 total hours according to the pilot's records. The pilot had acquired the airplane on October 6, 2006, when it had approximately 27 hours.
Meteorological Information
At 1023, a weather reporting facility approximately 5 nautical miles north of the accident site reported wind from 300 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles, a clear sky, temperature 52 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure of 30.02 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was located roughly one-quarter mile north-northwest of the departure end of runway 35. Fuel was present at the site. Impact marks and damage to trees were consistent with the airplane descending in a left turn. The initial impact point was near a row of trees, where the propeller and several pieces of fiberglass fuselage and left wing were found. A few feet beyond, the engine had separated from the airplane at the firewall. Immediately west of the engine, the fuselage came to rest in the trees in a nose-down attitude.
The forward fuselage was heavily distorted and damaged. Approximately two feet of the left wing remained attached to the fuselage; the rest was broken into multiple pieces scattered between the tree impacts and main wreckage. The right wing was partially separated, with its outer third distorted and damaged. The tail section was nearly separated just aft of the baggage compartment. Cockpit damage prevented examination of switch positions.
Engine examination revealed dark, black sooting on the spark plugs. Additionally, a clamp securing the rubber hose between the left intercooler and aft intercooler induction tube was found set to a smaller diameter than the combined diameter of the induction tube and rubber hose. No other anomalies were discovered.
The propeller blades were labeled A, B, and C for reporting. Blade A displayed S-bending, leading edge polishing, and chordwise scratches across its entire surface. Blade B was relatively undamaged. Blade C exhibited leading edge polishing and chordwise, 45-degree, and perpendicular scratches along half of its surface. The metal nose cone had rotational scoring and distortion. The electrical auxiliary fuel boost pump was impact-damaged and separated from the engine; it was retained for further examination.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on the pilot by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences noted that myocarditis may or may not have caused a cardiac event, such as an arrhythmia, prior to the crash. Forensic toxicology by the FAA found no evidence of carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, or drugs in the pilot's specimens.
Additional Information: Fuel Boost Pump Examination
The Dukes electrical fuel boost pump, part number 5544 00-1, normally operates at low and high flow settings of 4 to 7 psi and 29 psi, respectively. The pump was examined at Cessna Aircraft Company under FAA supervision. Impact forces caused a case leak and precluded testing of the low flow setting. However, high flow setting and current draw tests were within acceptable limits.