History of Flight
The accident occurred on February 20, 2020, at about 0600 central standard time, near Lake Coleman, Texas. The Beechcraft B200 airplane, registration N860J, was destroyed. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Air traffic control records show the airplane was cleared for takeoff from Runway 35L at Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), Texas. The pilot was instructed to climb to 12,000 feet mean sea level (msl), then to 23,000 ft msl.
During the climb from 6,500 to 8,000 ft msl, the pilot reported freezing drizzle and light rime icing. At 11,600 ft msl, the pilot reported faulty deicing equipment and requested return. The controller cleared the pilot to descend to 11,000 ft and direct to ABI, then to 7,000 ft, and asked about an emergency. The pilot stated they "blew a breaker" when encountering icing conditions and it was not resetting.
The controller instructed descent to 5,000 ft and an ILS approach to Runway 35R, with a heading of 310°. When asked if turning to the assigned heading, the pilot reported faulty instruments. The controller requested altitude; the pilot replied 4,700 ft. The controller directed maintaining 5,000 ft. The pilot responded "pulling up," after which communications ceased.
Radar data showed the airplane's departure from ABI, a turn to the southeast, a straight-line track, then a right turn with decreasing radius before the track ended.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The pilot held a second-class medical certificate issued November 27, 2019, listing 5,300 total flight hours and 150 hours in the previous six months. The pilot completed a FlightSafety International KingAir 90 Part 135 initial/transition training course on March 3, 2019, with 625 hours in the KingAir 200 at that time.
Aircraft maintenance records revealed two discrepancies: "Prop deice inop breaker popped" and "surface deice breaker popped." Corrective action in January 2020 involved checking wiring, torquing hardware on heater boot terminal blocks, and ground operational checks, which were satisfactory.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane impacted terrain in a right-wing-low attitude. The wreckage path was oriented on a magnetic heading of 320° and extended about 570 feet, with highly fragmented wreckage and a strong fuel odor.
Flight control components were scattered along the path. The rudder and both elevators remained attached to a section of empennage, but counterweight tips had separated. Control cable continuity could not be established due to fragmentation. Multiple pieces of both ailerons were located.
The left inboard and outboard flaps were damaged; the right flaps were separated into sections. Left flap actuator housings were fractured. The right inboard actuator indicated flaps retracted (0°). Landing gear components were found along the path, but their pre-impact position could not be determined.
Each engine was equipped with an MT composite 5-bladed propeller under a supplemental type certificate. Multiple blade fragments were in the debris. Both engines were heavily impact-damaged and partially buried. Disassembly revealed severe damage including rubbing wear, fractures, and deformation, but no pre-impact abnormalities were identified.
The instrument panel was highly fragmented; readings were unreliable. The right-side pneumatic attitude indicator showed impact damage with the rotor/gyro outside the case and light circumferential scoring. A remote gyro unit also had heavy impact damage and scoring.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the South Plains Forensic Pathology determined the cause of death as multiple blunt impact injuries. Toxicological testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory was negative for ethanol and positive for diphenhydramine, an over-the-counter antihistamine.