What happened
On August 20, 2020, a Beech B200 (marketed as a King Air 200), registration N198DM, was involved in a fatal accident near Rockford, Illinois. The aircraft was operating as a repositioning flight under Part 91 regulations, intended to move the plane from a maintenance facility at Rockford International Airport to DuPage Airport in West Chicago.
Data recovered from an onboard Appareo Stratus device and airport surveillance footage show that the aircraft began its takeoff roll on runway 19 at approximately 15:41. During the initial climb, the aircraft reached a groundspeed of roughly 105 knots before experiencing significant flight path deviations. Following rotation, the aircraft's pitch and roll angles fluctuated significantly. The plane eventually entered a steep left bank, reaching an angle of approximately 86 degrees, while the nose pitched down sharply to -73 degrees.
The aircraft departed the runway centerline to the left and struck the ground in a grassy area near a taxiway. The impact was followed by an explosion and a post-impact fire. The pilot was the sole fatality in the accident.
Findings
An analysis of flight data suggests that the aircraft experienced a reduction of thrust in the left engine shortly after takeoff. This loss of power led to a nose-left sideslip and a heavy left roll. While the pilot attempted to correct the deviation, the continued decay in airspeed and subsequent reversal of the sideslip resulted in the aircraft impacting the terrain.