History of Flight
On June 22, 2012, at 1001 eastern daylight time, a Raytheon Aircraft Company C90GT, registration N508GT, operated by Oz Gas Aviation LLC, struck a communications tower near Morgantown, West Virginia. The certificated airline transport pilot was fatally injured. No flight plan had been filed for the positioning flight from Nemacolin Airport (PA88), Farmington, Pennsylvania, to Morgantown Municipal Airport (MGW), Morgantown, West Virginia, conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The airplane had earlier departed from Rigrtona Airport (13PA), Tidioute, Pennsylvania, at 0924 with the pilot and three passengers. It landed at PA88 at 0944. After deplaning the passengers, the pilot restarted the engines, taxied, and departed at 0957 for the short positioning flight to MGW.
After departure, the airplane climbed to 3,100 feet msl on a direct heading. The pilot contacted Clarksburg Approach Control and was given a discrete code. At about nine miles east of Morgantown, the controller advised radar contact. The airplane then descended to 3,000 feet and struck the tower on a magnetic heading of 240 degrees.
A witness cutting timber across the road reported cloudy weather with lightning and thunder, and light rain. He heard a loud bang, saw the airplane descending inverted, and then impact.
Pilot Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiple ratings, including type ratings for several jets. He also held a flight instructor certificate. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on August 1, 2011, with a special issuance. He had reported 22,000 total flight hours, with 150 hours in the previous six months. He completed C90GT initial training in 2008 and recurrent training in 2009. No record of a flight review within two years preceding the accident was found.
Aircraft Information
The accident aircraft was a low-wing, pressurized, twin-engine airplane with retractable landing gear, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135A turboprop engines. It was manufactured in 2006. The most recent phase inspection was completed on May 11, 2011, at 1,305 hours. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had 1,439.2 hours and was overdue for its next inspection.
Meteorological Information
Reported weather at MGW at 0953 included wind 220 degrees at 5 knots, 9 miles visibility, few clouds at 1,700 feet, temperature 24°C, dew point 20°C. Clouds were present around 1,500 to 2,000 feet agl with haze reducing visibility. Satellite images showed increasing mid-level clouds from 0900 to 1100. A witness reported light rain and thunder at the accident time. A photograph of the tower at 1130 showed cumulus clouds near its top.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane first contacted the tower antenna with the right engine propeller spinner. The right wing broke apart and impacted 0.1 miles from the tower, followed by a post-impact fire. The left horizontal stabilizer separated and impacted nearby. The left engine and fuselage with left wing impacted inverted at various distances. The right engine came to rest 0.5 mile from the tower.
The communications tower was approximately 493 feet agl (3,089 feet msl), marked and lighted per FCC requirements. The tower was struck previously by an aircraft in 2003.
Examination of the wreckage found no preimpact malfunctions of flight controls, engines, or airframe.
Additional Findings
The aircraft was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder that captured the last 30 minutes of audio. The recording included communications and engine sounds. The CVR recorded the descent and impact.
The aircraft had an enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) with a terrain inhibit switch. Data from the EGPWS showed that terrain inhibit was turned on 20 seconds before landing at PA88 and remained on for the accident flight. An obstacle alert was calculated but not annunciated due to the inhibit. The EGPWS database had never been updated and was out of date.
Aeronautical charts on board were about two years old but depicted the tower. Two tablet computers were found damaged, and data recovery was unsuccessful. The pilot had a current subscription to a flight planning service but what charts were downloaded could not be determined.
The pilot's toxicology tests detected amlodipine, pioglitazone, salicylate, and glucose, which had been reported to his aviation medical examiner. He had a history of coronary artery disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.