Accident Details
On September 29, 2019, about 1600 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 421, registration N731PF, impacted trees and terrain near DeLand Municipal Airport (DED) in DeLand, Florida. The aircraft was substantially damaged and a post-impact fire occurred. The commercial pilot, a pilot-rated passenger, and an aft-seated passenger all sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was purchased by its owner on June 21, 2019, with the intention of making repairs and reselling it. At the time of purchase, the airplane was based at DED and had not undergone an annual inspection for several years. A mechanic was hired to perform necessary repairs and conduct the annual inspection. During the inspection, the mechanic noted that the left tachometer generator and fuel gauges were inoperative, among other items. The mechanic intended to find a pilot to transport the airplane to Texas after completion of the work and sign-off of the annual inspection. However, at the time of the accident flight, the mechanic had not completed the repairs or signed off the inspection. The owner stated he did not know the pilot or passengers and was unaware the airplane was being flown.
Maintenance records showed the last annual inspection was on February 15, 2014, at a Hobbs meter time of 858 hours. At the time of the post-accident examination, the Hobbs meter read 862 hours.
Pilot and Passenger Information
The pilot, age 27, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane, as well as a flight instructor certificate with a single-engine rating. His FAA first-class medical certificate was issued June 4, 2018. His logbook indicated a total pilot-in-command time of 500 hours, including about 40 hours in multiengine airplanes. The logbook did not show any instruction or previous flight experience in the Cessna 421. While the pilot had an endorsement for high-performance airplanes, he lacked an endorsement for complex airplanes.
The pilot-rated passenger, age 32, held a private pilot certificate for single-engine land. His FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on April 12, 2019. His logbook showed 155 total flight hours, all in single-engine airplanes.
Witness Accounts
A witness near the accident site reported hearing the airplane fly overhead at about 2,000 ft with engines sounding “rough.” About 10 minutes later, the same witness observed the airplane at 1,000 ft hearing “sputtering and backfiring.” Another witness about 1 mile away heard the airplane flying very low overhead and observed it banking left with both engines at “low idle.” The flaps and landing gear were retracted. The witness saw the airplane roll left three times before descending below the tree line, and heard two “pop” sounds from the engines. No smoke was observed during the descent.
Wreckage and Examination
The main wreckage was located about 4 nautical miles from DED on a 230° magnetic heading. The wreckage path spanned about 75 ft from the first broken tree branch at about 75 ft altitude to the final resting point upright at the base of a tree. The cockpit was crushed, and a tree trunk penetrated the fuselage. All flight control surfaces were accounted for. The empennage separated from the fuselage at the aft pressure bulkhead. The vertical stabilizer was buckled, and the rudder was broken in two parts.
Examination of both engines and components revealed no anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. Propeller witness marks indicated the blades were in a low-pitch (unfeathered) position at impact, and damage patterns were consistent with low rotational energy.
Medical and Toxicological Information
Autopsies performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner, Daytona Beach, Florida, determined the cause of death for the pilot and pilot-rated passenger as blunt force trauma. Toxicological testing of the pilot detected delta-9-THC (6.7 ng/ml in chest cavity blood) and its metabolites, indicating recent marijuana use. The pilot-rated passenger tested negative for carbon monoxide, ethanol, and drugs.