History of Flight
On December 24, 2011, at approximately 1350 eastern standard time, a Beech model 19A, registration N33SR, impacted a road about 250 feet south of the departure end of runway 27 at Vinton County Airport (22I) in McArthur, Ohio. The airplane sustained damage to the fuselage, both wings, and landing gear. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the private pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The origin of the flight was not determined.
The airport manager reported seeing the airplane depart from 22I several hours before the accident but did not observe its return or the accident. A witness living near the accident site heard the airplane "rev up" and saw it above the runway climbing westward at about treetop level. Shortly after looking away, he heard an impact and discovered the crashed airplane with his mother.
The airplane came to rest along a road parallel to the runway on the south side of the airport. Witness marks on the road indicated the direction of travel was west-southwest. The airplane slid into a roadside ditch on the south side of the road and ended facing north.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane rating. His pilot certificate was initially issued on September 22, 2000. His most recent third-class airman medical certificate, with a restriction for corrective lenses, was issued on March 29, 2011. The pilot had logged approximately 126.5 hours total flight time, with 11.7 hours in the accident airplane. His logbook included an endorsement for a flight review completed on September 28, 2010.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was a Beech model 19A, serial number MB-443, a four-place, low-wing, single-engine airplane with tricycle landing gear. It was issued an FAA normal category standard airworthiness certificate on June 17, 1969. The airplane was powered by a 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320-E2C four-cylinder reciprocating engine. According to maintenance records, the airframe had accumulated 6,973 total hours as of the most recent annual inspection on January 7, 2011.
Meteorological Information
Weather conditions recorded at Ohio University Airport-Snyder Field Airport (UNI), about 12 miles southeast of the accident site, at 1435 were: wind from 180 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 5°C, dew point -3°C, and altimeter 30.36 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
At the time of examination, the airplane had been moved to an outdoor storage lot. The right wing was separated from the airplane; spar root breaks were consistent with overload failure. The right wing was intact except for the spar, with flap and aileron attached. The flap pushrod end fitting was fractured due to overload. The right fuel tank contained about half a tank of fuel. Aileron cable continuity was established. The right main landing gear remained intact and attached.
The left wing was also separated; spar root breaks were consistent with overload. The flap and aileron were separated from the wing, with fracture surfaces indicating overload. The left fuel tank contained no fuel; the inboard rib was compromised. The left main landing gear remained intact.
The engine and forward fuselage were crushed rearward; the engine remained attached to the mount, but the mount tube structure was compromised. The nose landing gear was partially attached but folded rearward. The instrument panel was partially separated, and the cabin door was separated. The fuselage was buckled aft of the wing trailing edge, but the aft fuselage and tail surfaces were intact. Control continuity was established for rudder and stabilator; aileron control cable continuity was established but cables were cut for transport. The flap handle was in the full-flap position, but the torque tube was in the retracted position; the cable was fractured due to overload. No shoulder harnesses were installed.
The engine was removed and tested: it produced suction and compression on all cylinders, vacuum pump rotation was noted, spark plugs showed normal to rich mixture, magnetos produced spark, carburetor had fuel and intact floats, and fuel pump suction was present. The propeller blades were bent rearward about 10 degrees with chordwise scratching on the aft faces.
Postaccident examinations did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Franklin County Coroner's Office on December 27, 2011; the pilot's death was attributed to injuries received in the accident. Toxicology testing by the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute detected hydromorphone (0.032 ug/mL) in blood, midazolam in liver and blood, and morphine (0.03 ug/mL) in blood. A review indicated these substances resulted from hospital treatment following the accident.