What happened
Following departure from runway 07, the aircraft was cleared for a direct flight to the Wiscasset NDB, located east of the airfield. During the initial climb, the aircraft entered a left-hand turn. During this phase of flight, the pilot contacted air traffic control to report an unspecified issue and inquired if the controller could observe the aircraft's turning motion. Shortly after this communication, the Beech E90 entered an uncontrolled descent and struck terrain roughly 1.6 miles north of the airport. There were no survivors recorded in the crash.
Findings
An investigation into the accident identified a significant weight discrepancy between the aircraft's wing tanks. Three days prior to the accident, a refueler had added 840 pounds of fuel to the left wing before the fuel farm became depleted. No subsequent fueling took place, and the pilot was not notified that the fuel load was uneven. While the Pilot's Operating Manual for the Beech C90 model establishes a maximum allowable fuel imbalance of 200 pounds, the manual for the Beech E90 did not provide a specific limit for such an imbalance. No mechanical failures or malfunctions were identified in the wreckage prior to the impact.