History of Flight
On March 16, 2019, about 1149 Pacific daylight time, a Beech BE-50 airplane, N800DC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Riverside, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Shortly after departure, the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested visual flight rules flight-following to his destination, an airport about 42 miles to the northeast. The controller cleared the pilot to climb to cruise altitude and to resume his own navigation. Radar data indicated that the pilot climbed on a southerly heading before entering a gradual right turn. During the turn, the controller requested the pilot’s on-course heading toward the destination, to which the pilot replied that he was, “trying to figure that out” and that his “electricity” had “almost gone out.” About this time, the airplane was at its maximum altitude of 3,400 ft mean sea level (msl), before it began to descend.
About 1142, the pilot subsequently requested to return to the departure airport and stated that he was “having trouble with some instruments.” The controller provided the pilot with a heading directly toward the airport, which was about 4 miles to the north-northwest. The pilot acknowledged; however, the airplane continued the right turn. One minute later, the controller again asked the pilot if he had the destination airport in sight; the pilot replied that he was “having problems with some of these controls” and stated that he did not have the airport in sight. At this time, the airplane was at an altitude of about 2,800 ft msl.
About 1144, the pilot reported that he had “lost” the right engine. The controller declared an emergency on the pilot’s behalf and advised him that the departure airport was at his “seven o’clock and five miles,” and another airport was at his “four o’clock to five o’clock and three miles.” The pilot stated that he intended to return to the departure airport but continued toward the east-northeast rather than turning west toward the airport.
About 1145, the controller again provided a heading toward the departure airport, which the pilot acknowledged. The airplane then completed a right 360° turn as the airplane continued to descend from about 2,000 ft msl to about 1,400 ft msl. As the airplane continued northeast, the controller eventually provided vectors to Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), which was about 2 miles away; however, the pilot reported that he “had his hands full.” The controller cleared the pilot to land at RAL and asked if the pilot could make the airport. The pilot’s last transmission, about 1148, was that Riverside was the only place he could land. The last radar returns showed the airplane at 1,200 ft msl at groundspeeds between 85 to 89 knots.
The airplane impacted the backyard of a residence about 1.5 miles southwest of RAL. Witnesses in the area heard the airplane and observed it flying at low altitude before the nose of the airplane dropped, and the airplane began to spin.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 79, held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multiengine land, and private pilot privileges for airplane single-engine land. On the application for his most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certificate, dated June 28, 2018, he reported a total flight experience of 3,127 total hours and 0 hours in the previous 6 months. The pilot was issued a third-class medical with a limitation for corrective lenses that was not valid for any class after June 30, 2019.
The last pilot logbook entry, dated August 27, 2018, indicated a total time of 3,155.2 total hours. The pilot recorded his flight time in the accident airplane from the period of January 14, 2017, through August 27, 2018; the estimated total time as identified in the pilot’s logbook was 53.0 hours. There was no flight time listed for 2019. His most recent flight review was completed on July 14, 2018.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was manufactured in 1956 and was powered by two Lycoming GO-480-G2D6 engines. A review of the maintenance records revealed that the most recent annual inspection was completed on December 12, 2018. The Hobbs time was recorded as 763.2 hours. The airplane total time at the annual inspection was 10,881.0 hours. The total airplane time at the time of the accident was 10,881.2 hours.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest nose down and inverted in the backyard of a residence; the wreckage was confined to the accident site. The first identified point of impact was a playset at the northeast corner of the backyard. The debris path was about 25 ft long with a ground impression near the playset that extended toward the main wreckage; a green colored lens was also identified in the ground impression.
Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces. The flaps were in the retracted position. The left and right engine control positions were in the mid-range for the propeller and throttle and the mixture was in the rich position. The fuel tanks had been breached, and fuel residue was evident at the accident site. Both fuel selector valves were in between the crossfeed and main tank positions. Both fuel selectors in the cockpit were positioned to crossfeed.
Each engine was equipped with a three-bladed Hartzell propeller. All three blades separated from the right engine. Two of the three propeller blades separated from the left engine. Several tree branches appeared to have been cut by the propeller blades.
Manual rotation of both engines produced valve train and mechanical continuity. There was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction of the engines that would have precluded normal operation. As a result of damage to each engines magnetos, magneto-to-engine timing could not be determined.
Examination of the left engine revealed all fuel lines in the engine compartment were in place and secure. The carburetor was partially separated from its mounting pad. The throttle and mixture controls were secure and remained attached to their respective control arms. The fuel pump was separated from its mounting pad. The top spark plugs displayed coloration consistent with normal operation. The combustion chambers showed no damage or evidence of foreign object ingestion or detonation. The magnetos had separated and were damaged; each produced spark at all leads when manually rotated. The oil filter was damaged with no metal contamination.
Examination of the right engine revealed all fuel lines were in place and secure. The carburetor was partially separated. The throttle and mixture controls were secure. The fuel pump separated from its mounting pad. The bottom spark plugs displayed coloration consistent with normal operation. The combustion chambers showed no damage. The left magneto remained attached and secure; the right magneto separated and was damaged. Each produced spark at all leads when manually rotated. The oil filter and suction screen showed no metal contamination. The engine oil sump pan had separated, exposing intact components with no mechanical malfunctions.
Propeller blades from both engines exhibited various damage including bending, chordwise striations, leading edge nicks, torsional twisting, and S-bending.
Additional Information
The Pilot’s Operating Handbook, Emergency Operation Procedures, indicated that the twin-Bonanza handles and performs well on one engine, with sufficient power to sustain flight and safe maneuvering. The minimum safe single-engine speed is 90 mph, and the best rate-of-climb speed on one engine is about 100 mph for all altitudes. The single-engine procedure indicated to add power to maintain altitude and airspeed. For the dead engine, move the mixture lever to idle cut-off. Pull the propeller lever to full aft to feather the propeller. When the dead engine stops rotating, shut off the ignition switch and generator switch. Turn the fuel selector valve for the dead engine to “OFF.”
Medical and Pathological Information
The Coroner for the Riverside Sheriff’s Department performed the autopsy and determined the cause of death to be multiple blunt impact injuries. Toxicology testing performed by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory found Tamsulosin in muscle and liver tissue. No ethanol was detected in the muscle or liver. The toxicology testing did not perform testing for carbon monoxide or cyanide.