History of Flight
On December 30, 2014, about 0429 mountain standard time, a Cessna 404 (N404MG) was substantially damaged when it impacted a residential area north of Centennial Airport (KAPA) in Englewood, Colorado. A post-impact fire ensued. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by Key Lime Air under 14 CFR Part 91 as a positioning flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Denver International Airport (KDEN).
According to Key Lime Air representatives, the pilot was positioning the airplane from KAPA to KDEN for a potential Part 135 freight flight. The airplane had been parked outside and uphill from their facility since December 25, 2014. The night before the accident, it was towed to a parking space outside their hangar so engine heaters could be plugged in.
On the morning of the accident, the pilot was observed removing blankets from the engine and snow and ice from the airframe. He used mechanical means to deice the airplane, without chemical deicing services. Key Lime Air estimated the airplane had 800 pounds of fuel on board. No services were requested or received by the pilot.
A Key Lime Air employee estimated the pilot started the number 1 engine about 0408. It ran for 5 to 10 minutes before the number 2 engine was started. Both engines started immediately. The airplane taxied several minutes later.
According to ATC recordings, the pilot requested clearance and was cleared to Denver Airport at 8,000 feet. At 0419:11 he announced taxi and was cleared to runway 35 right via alpha taxiway. At 0425 he was cleared for takeoff.
At 0427:22 the pilot reported he had "lost an engine" and needed to return. The controller offered any runway and provided wind of 030 degrees at 3 knots. At 0427:38 the controller asked if he could make "that left turn." At 0427:42 the pilot responded "standby."
Radar data showed the airplane departed from runway 17L/35R to the north. The field elevation at KAPA was 5,885 feet msl. The radar track indicated a slight right turn to the northeast, reaching 6,125 feet msl when the turn initiated. The highest altitude was 6,225 feet msl. The last radar return was at 5,975 feet msl, coincident with loss of radar and voice communications.
One witness observed the airplane in a right turn. Several others heard the airplane and described a rough-running engine. One witness stated he did not hear either engine running just prior to the accident.
Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 55, held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiengine land rating and a commercial certificate with single-engine land rating. He held type ratings for Dornier 328 and Fairchild SA227, and a flight instructor certificate. He was issued a special issuance second-class medical certificate on May 23, 2014, valid until May 31, 2015.
According to Key Lime Air records, the pilot had flown 89 hours in the last 90 days, 4 hours in the accident make/model. He had flown 24 hours in the past 30 days, including 3 hours at night, 5 hours in actual instrument conditions, and 24 hours in a twin-engine Piper. Key Lime Air estimated his total time as 2,566 hours, with 676 night hours. On an insurance form dated June 22, 2014, he reported 4,280 hours total, about 3,760 hours multiengine, and 800 night hours.
A company flight log from July 1 to December 30, 2014, indicated the last time he flew the accident airplane was September 2, 2014, on a one-hour night flight. He was first assigned to the Cessna 404 as pilot in command on August 16, 2004, as a flight instructor on October 18, 2004, and as a check airman on March 7, 2005.
His airman competency/proficiency check was completed with satisfactory rating on December 22, 2014, in a Piper PA31-350 during daylight. The check included simulated engine failures. No concerns were reported.
The pilot was the Director of Safety at Key Lime Air. His family reported he had been flying and working since Thanksgiving. On the Monday prior, he flew in the morning, worked, had dinner around 1800, fell asleep in his chair, went to bed around 1930, and slept well. He likely got up between 0300 and 0305 on the accident morning and left about 0330.
Aircraft Information
The Cessna 404 (serial number 404-0813) was manufactured in 1980. It was registered with a standard airworthiness certificate. It was powered by two Teledyne Continental Motors GTSIO-520-M engines rated at 375 hp each, with McCauley 3-blade controllable pitch propellers.
The airplane was registered to EDB Air, Inc., operated by Key Lime Air, and maintained under an annual inspection program. An annual inspection was completed on December 15, 2014, at an airframe total time of 16,681.7 hours.
Maintenance records showed the number 1 (left) engine was overhauled and installed on August 14, 2012; the number 2 (right) engine was overhauled and installed on March 20, 2014.
Two discrepancies were reported by the accident pilot on the right engine. The first stated: "Floods when aux pump turned on. Appears to be in high position. Fuel flow touchy @ 1500." Corrective action was completed on December 18, 2014. The second stated: "prop feathers way before detent." Corrective action was completed on December 18, 2014.
A pilot who flew the airplane on December 19, 2014, reported no issues. The last pilot to fly it, 4 or 5 days prior, reported no anomalies.
Meteorological Information
The closest official weather observation was at Centennial Airport (KAPA), 1.8 nm southwest of the accident site. METARs reported:
- 0353: wind 050 at 3 knots, visibility 6 miles in light snow and mist, ceiling broken at 3,100 feet, temperature -19°C, dew point -22°C, altimeter 30.36 inches.
- 0406: wind calm, visibility 7 miles in light snow, ceiling broken at 2,900 feet, temperature -19°C, dew point -22°C, altimeter 30.37 inches.
- 0451: wind 040 at 4 knots, visibility 9 miles, few clouds at 1,300 feet, scattered at 12,000 feet, temperature -20°C, dew point -22°C, altimeter 30.37 inches. Snow ended at 45 minutes past the hour.
Snow totals for the 60 hours prior ranged between 1.9 and 4.2 inches. AIRMETs for mountain obscuration, IFR conditions, moderate icing, and moderate turbulence were valid for the accident location.
Sunrise was at 0720. Moonrise at 1258.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was in a residential area. The airplane impacted several trees, a wooden enclosure, a fence, and shrubs, coming to rest oriented northeast. The site elevation was 5,680 feet msl. Impact heading was 160 degrees magnetic.
Initial impact occurred at tops of two pine trees about 30 feet high. Broken branches, debris, and a right wing tip were found. A ground scar continued 23 feet to a propeller blade that penetrated a wooden fence. The propeller hub with two blades was embedded in the ground. Impact damage and fire exposure continued through a chain-link fence and bushes to the main wreckage, 56 feet away. The right engine cowling and a propeller blade were found in a back yard. The rear of a house was damaged by a propeller blade.
The main wreckage included left and right wings, fuselage, and empennage, oriented east. The forward fuselage was charred, melted, and partially consumed by fire. The left engine partially separated, with impact and fire damage. The right engine separated and was located south of the main wreckage. Flight control cables were continuous.
No preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were found that would have precluded normal operation.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy was performed by the Arapahoe County Coroner on December 30, 2014. The manner of death was listed as accident. Toxicological tests were negative for carbon monoxide and ethanol. Tests for cyanide were not performed. Blood and liver tissue tested positive for loratadine, a non-sedating antihistamine.
Tests and Research
Flight control cables were examined; breaks were consistent with impact or recovery. Impact damage on the right stabilizer was consistent with a chain-link fence post. Yellow engine oil film was present along the right side of the empennage.
Deice air lines were tested: left horizontal stabilizer boot inflated, right stabilizer boot impact-damaged, vertical stabilizer boot inflated. Wing boots could not be tested.
Trim measurements: rudder 1.3 inches, elevator 1.2 (right) and 1.3 (left), aileron 0.8 inches — considered unreliable compared to Cessna charts.
Engine control quadrant was not restricted. Throttles: left 1 3/4" up from closed, right 2 9/16" up. Propellers: left 2 7/16" up from detent, right 1 13/16" up. Mixtures: left 2 3/4, right 1 3/4 rich.
Fuel selector: right engine "off", left engine "left main". Valves in wings matched.
Field engine examination: All three right propeller blades separated; hub fragmented. One left propeller blade separated; hub impact-damaged. Left engine exhibited fire and impact damage; spark plugs worn normal; no anomalies found. Right engine forward gear case impact-damaged; intake and exhaust valve arms on No. 5 cylinder separated; could not be rotated by hand.
Lab examination of left engine: vacuum pump normal, fuel pump normal. Right magneto showed no spark due to internal heat damage; left magneto similar heat damage.
No preimpact mechanical anomalies were identified.