History of Flight
On January 15, 2013, at 1958 eastern standard time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N1120N, collided with trees shortly after departing from Pellston Regional Airport of Emmet County (KPLN), Pellston, Michigan. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Aero Leasing and operated by Martinaire Aviation, L.L.C. under 14 CFR Part 135 as a cargo flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The flight was originating from KPLN and en route to Capital Region International Airport (KLAN), Lansing, Michigan.
The pilot had flown from Chippewa County International Airport (KCIU) and landed at KPLN to refuel and pick up 570 pounds of cargo. He interacted with three FBO employees who stated he seemed alert and awake but wanted a "quick turn." After refueling and loading, the pilot taxied to runway 23 and departed.
Data from the pilot's Garmin 696 handheld GPS showed the airplane entered a right bank almost immediately after takeoff, climbed to about 260 feet above ground level (AGL), then began to descend. The last GPS data point recorded the airplane at 175 feet AGL and 127 knots. The airplane impacted trees and came to rest in a heavily wooded area.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 26, held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane, issued on May 6, 2011. He also held a certified flight instructor certificate for those categories. He was issued a Class 1 Limited Medical Certificate on August 9, 2012, with the limitation "Must wear corrective lenses." On his medical application, he reported 2,000 total hours and 100 hours in the preceding six months. His logbooks showed 1,921 total hours, 142 night hours, 47 actual instrument hours, and 34 hours in the accident airplane make and model.
The pilot began training with Martinaire in the accident airplane make and model on November 26, 2012, and completed training and a check ride on December 7, 2012. He completed initial operating experience (IOE) with a senior captain on January 11, 2013, and began flying solo for Martinaire on January 12, 2013. He was deemed proficient for IFR conditions and was current during the accident flight.
Aircraft Information
The Cessna 208B, two-seat, high-wing, fixed landing gear airplane, serial number 208B0386, was manufactured in 1994. It was powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A 675 shaft horsepower engine with a three-bladed constant-speed McCauley propeller. The airplane was on an approved inspection program. On December 31, 2012, the engine had 5,054.8 hours since overhaul, 7,527 cycles since overhaul, and 2,945.2 hours until next overhaul. On January 14, 2013, the airframe total time was 10,132.1 hours.
On the day of the accident, prior to departing KCIU, the pilot reported that the left side attitude indicator was inoperative. It was removed, replaced, and the airplane returned to service. A weight and balance form for the accident flight was found at the scene but not completely filled out. Weight and balance computations using four scenarios provided by the operator all resulted in the airplane being within center of gravity limits.
Meteorological Information
At 1854, the automated weather station at KPLN reported: wind from 210 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 16 knots, visibility 10 miles, broken clouds at 3,600 and 4,800 feet, overcast at 5,500 feet, temperature -3°C, dew point -9°C, and barometric pressure 30.14 inHg. No automated report was issued near the accident time; the next report at 2054 showed wind from 210 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 17 knots, visibility 10 miles, overcast at 5,000 feet, temperature -3°C, dew point -8°C, and pressure 30.10 inHg.
A pilot flying the same make and model airplane who took off 5-10 minutes prior described conditions as "bumpy" and noted that southwest wind usually brought turbulence. On his GPS, he observed wind at 1,000 feet AGL as "right on the nose at 36 knots." He flew VFR to 6,000 feet and reported no ice. He described taking off from runway 23 at night as "a black hole" and used cockpit instruments after climbing above a few hundred feet AGL. Two FBO employees stated the conditions were "windy" at the time; one said the engine sounded fine.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was at 45°33'50.7" N, 084°49'42.3" W, elevation 714 feet MSL, in a heavily wooded, snow-covered area. The main wreckage was wrapped around two trees and mostly broken apart. The wreckage path was about 330 feet long, heading about 270 degrees, starting with wing portions, scattered debris, main wreckage, more debris, and the propeller. Initial impact points were tree tops confirmed by freshly cut branches on snow at 45°33'50.4" N, 084°49'37.2" W. The widest initial tree impact points were about 41.6 feet apart. The descent angle through trees was between 14 and 20 degrees.
The main wreckage included most of the cockpit, fuselage, empennage, horizontal stabilizer, a portion of the vertical stabilizer, landing gear, and engine. The fuselage and cockpit were wrapped around a tree and fractured from the nose to mid-fuselage. Wings were detached and scattered. Landing gear tires were detached from wheels. All three propeller blades remained attached to the hub; blades exhibited s-bending, leading edge scoring, dents, and scratches. Blade A was not fully intact; a small portion was found 200 feet north. Blades B and C were intact.
Flight control continuity was confirmed for all controls; all cables were fractured in overload. The flaps were found in the up position, confirmed by the jack screw position. The throttle quadrant sustained impact damage; lever positions at impact could not be determined. The instrument panel was mostly detached; the attitude indicator gyro showed rotational scoring on the inside of the case and gyro.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy and toxicology test on the pilot were performed at Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, Michigan, on January 17, 2013. The cause of death was multiple blunt injuries; the manner was accident. Toxicology results revealed no drugs detected. The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute did not complete a Final Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report because specimens were not made available.
Tests and Research
Engine examination and disassembly at the manufacturer's facility showed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The Garmin GPSMAP 696 sustained impact damage. Chip-level recovery extracted 157 sessions from February 24, 2012, through January 16, 2013, totaling 20,724 data points. The accident flight had 20 data points, starting at 19:54:28 and ending at 19:57:58 EST on January 16, 2013.
The NTSB's Office of Research and Engineering conducted an Aircraft Performance GPS and Simulation Study using GPS data, crash site information, and a simulator model. The first GPS point showing the airplane airborne was at 19:57:19, climbing at 700 fpm through about 730 feet MSL (14 feet AGL), on a track of about 223 degrees, accelerating through 91 knots. The airplane accelerated while climbing at 500-700 fpm to about 960 feet MSL (240 feet AGL). The climb rate decayed, and after reaching a peak of 980 feet MSL (260 feet AGL) at 19:57:45, it began descending. Impact occurred about 1 mile west-southwest of the departure runway. The simulation estimated impact time at 19:58:13, with a descent rate of 650-680 fpm from 19:57:52. Elapsed time from becoming airborne to impact was 54 seconds.
The simulation indicated the airplane accelerated from about 75 knots groundspeed after liftoff to about 145 knots at impact. It entered a right bank almost immediately, making a 42-degree right turn from runway heading 225 degrees to 267 degrees. The peak bank angle during the turn was 12.3 degrees. At impact, simulated airspeed was 156 knots, pitch angle negative 2 degrees, and bank angle 4.5 degrees. A constant power lever angle of 72 percent was maintained throughout, yielding a gas generator speed of about 93 percent. This setting provided the best match to GPS and impact site data.
Load factors from the simulation were used to compute "apparent" pitch and roll angles. Throughout the flight, the apparent roll angle was close to zero, and the apparent pitch angle was always greater than zero, even when the real pitch angle was negative.