Flight Sequence
Toward the end of a 6-hour, 20-minute flight, the pilot conducted a night visual approach and flew the airplane to a left traffic pattern downwind leg. The pilot lowered the landing gear and set the flaps to 30 degrees. After turning onto a left base leg, the pilot reported an "engine out" on the common traffic frequency. The airplane then passed through the final approach course, and the pilot called "base to final." Subsequently, the airplane commenced a right turn while maintaining altitude. The bank angle increased until the wings became vertical, then inverted, and the airplane rolled into a near-vertical descent. It hit the ground upright in a right spin.
Accident Details
Examination of the airplane and engines revealed that the right engine was not powered at impact, and its propeller was not in feather. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were found that could have caused an engine failure. The right fuel tank was breached, but fuel calculations—confirmed by fuel found in the tank and in the engine fuel filter housing—indicated that fuel exhaustion did not occur. It is unknown why the pilot did not continue a left turn descent onto the final approach leg toward the airport, which would have also been a turn toward the operating engine.
Pilot Communications
The pilot had a communication device capable of voice calls, texting, e-mail, and alarms. E-mails were sent from the device until 0323, and an alarm sounded at 0920. It is unknown if or how much pilot fatigue might have influenced the outcome.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause is the pilot's failure to maintain minimum control airspeed after a loss of power to the right engine, which resulted in an uncontrollable roll into an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the airplane's right engine for reasons that could not be determined because no preexisting mechanical anomalies were found, and the pilot's subsequent turn toward that inoperative engine while maintaining altitude.