What happened
While traveling en route, the aircraft experienced a fire originating in the right engine. This fire subsequently spread to the right wing of the aircraft type. During the incident, an aileron became detached from the wing, which rendered the plane uncontrollable. After notifying air traffic control of the emergency, the pilot attempted to perform an emergency landing. However, the aircraft crashed into an open field in Piketon while on fire. The accident resulted in five fatalities.
Findings
Investigations determined that the primary cause of the crash was an uncontrolled descent following the failure of the right engine turbocharger during flight. The intense heat from this failure ignited fuel and oil lines, which led to the structural failure and detachment of the aileron. The investigation identified several contributing factors:
- Failure of the powerplant and engine accessories
- Material failure resulting in fire within the engine and wing
- Separation of aircraft components during flight