What happened
During a night flight intended for mail transport, a cargo aircraft departed from runway 4R. The flight crew consisted of a pilot-in-command in the left seat, a pilot-rated cargo loader in the right seat, and an additional cargo loader who was not seated. As the aircraft began its takeoff roll and entered a turn, it encountered rising terrain. The plane struck the ground at a point approximately 15 feet above the runway elevation, roughly 0.3 miles from the departure end of the runway.
Findings
Investigation into the accident revealed that the three fatalities occurred under conditions where the aircraft was being operated from the right seat. The company had an established practice of allowing pilot-rated cargo loaders to fly the aircraft from the co-pilot's position during ferry and positioning flights to accumulate multiengine flight time. At the time of the crash, the right side of the instrument panel lacked essential flight instruments, containing only EGT gauges.
Environmental factors contributed to the difficulty of the flight, as there was no moon illumination, cloud layers were present, and no ground lighting was visible in the direction of the turn. While no mechanical failures were found, the investigation noted that the aircraft lacked seating or restraint systems for anyone other than the pilot and co-pilot. Furthermore, the operator had not authorized the transport of company personnel on this flight without proper seating arrangements.