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 Part 91 positioning flight, intended to relocate the plane from a maintenance facility at Rockford International Airport to DuPage Airport in West Chicago.
Data from an onboard Appareo Stratus device and airport surveillance footage captured the sequence of events. The aircraft began its takeoff roll on runway 19 at approximately 15:41:19. Shortly after liftoff, the aircraft began to deviate from the runway centerline toward the left. While the aircraft initially gained altitude, it soon experienced a significant loss of airspeed and a sharp increase in bank angle. The aircraft eventually entered a steep left roll and a nose-down pitch, impacting the ground in a grassy area near a taxiway. The impact was followed by an explosion and a post-impact fire, which caused significant damage to the airframe.
Findings
An analysis of flight data suggests that the accident was characterized by a loss of power in the left engine. Following rotation, the aircraft's speed began to decay, and the flight path showed a nose-left sideslip and a left roll consistent with reduced thrust on the left side. Although the pilot attempted to correct the deviation with rudder input, the aircraft continued to lose speed and eventually rolled heavily to the left before the crash. The pilot was the sole fatality in the accident.