N74CC

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On January 18, 2000, at 1202 Eastern Standard Time, a Beech C-90, N74CC, was destroyed after striking a guy wire on a communications tower, as it maneuvered near the Somerset-Pulaski County-J.T. Wilson Field Airport (SME), Somerset, Kentucky. The certificated airline transport pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the corporate flight. The flight was operated on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, and conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

On January 17th, the pilot and passengers flew from Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Ohio State University Airport (OSU), Columbus, Ohio, where they remained overnight. While there, the airplane was serviced with 210 gallons of Jet-A aviation grade fuel. The line person reported that the airplane was "topped" [filled to capacity].

According to transcripts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), on the morning of January 18, at 0834, the pilot contacted the Dayton Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), and filed an IFR flight plan from Columbus to Somerset. The pilot reported the airplane was a C-90 with the "I" equipment suffix, which indicated the airplane was equipped with LORAN, VOR/DME, or INS, and transponder with Mode C. After filing the flight plan, the pilot requested the Somerset forecast and winds aloft. The pilot was told that Somerset did not have a forecast, and was given the forecast for London, Kentucky (LOZ), located 26 nautical miles (NM) to the east which included:

"...five hundred scattered, occasional ceiling five hundred broken, one thousand overcast visibility five [statute] miles and mist, occasional [visibility] two miles, light drizzle, and mist, and winds from one forty at seven [140 degrees at 7 knots], and of course you're, i'm sure you're familiar with the fact that there's icing and maybe some turbulence across that route and occasional i f r conditions."

The pilot contacted the Dayton AFSS again at 1004, and requested more information on the latest forecast and temperature at Somerset. He was advised that the 0954 observation at Somerset reported a ceiling of 300 feet overcast, and the temperature and dewpoint were 2 degrees Celsius and -1 degree Celsius respectively. In addition, icing was forecast for the entire route, and the pilot was advised of pilot reports for both light rime ice and clear ice.

Additionally, between 1100 and 1500, Lexington, Kentucky (LEX), was forecast for winds from 330 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 6 statue miles, ceilings of 800 feet overcast, with occasionally visibility 5 statue miles in mist or light fog, and ceilings of 500 feet overcast. The forecast for London was revised at 0915, and up to 1300, called for ceilings as low as 100 feet overcast, and visibility one statue mile with mist.

At the end of the call, the pilot was offered the winds aloft and notices to airmen (NOTAMS), and he replied that he already had them.

The airplane departed Ohio State University airport at 1047, and was instructed to contact Columbus Departure Control. Later, control was transferred to the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). No problems were reported during the departure or en route phases of the flight.

At 1140, the ARTCC controller asked the pilot if he had the Somerset weather. The pilot replied that he did. The controller then asked him what approach he was planning for, and the pilot replied that he wanted the "SDF" (simplified directional finding) approach.

At 1145:15, the controller stated, "november seven four charlie charlie, cleared for the s d f approach to uh somerset, maintain four thousand until your established on the approach." The pilot replied, "ok maintain four till established (unintelligible), thank you four charlie charlie." The controller then repeated the approach clearance and this time specified the SDF RWY 4 approach, and the pilot again repeated that he was to maintain 4,000 feet until established and was cleared for the SDF RWY 4 approach at Somerset.

At 1148:01, the pilot transmitted, "ah indy four charlie charlie." The call was not answered by Indianapolis ARTCC, and there were no further transmissions between Indianapolis ARTCC and the airplane.

Several witnesses resided in an area northeast of the communications tower, and at a lower elevation than the hill on which the tower was erected. Two of the witnesses were inside their residences, and upon hearing a noise, went to the door and saw an airplane descend to the ground, after which, it erupted in fire. One witness thought the airplane was on fire before ground impact. Another witness reported he heard a noise and looked up. He saw the airplane spinning as it descended. He also thought it was missing part of one wing, and was on fire prior to ground impact.

An additional witness, located to the west of the accident site, reported that the airplane passed very low over his residence and a power line to his residence. He could hear the engine(s), spitting and sputtering like they were out of gas. He saw the airplane top a mountain and drop over the hill, after which, he lost sight of the airplane. He heard three loud noises about 3 to 5 seconds later, and believed the airplane had crashed.

The accident occurred during the hours of daylight, at 37 degrees, 0 minutes, 30 seconds north latitude, and 84 degrees, 34 minutes, 40 seconds west longitude.

OTHER DAMAGE

A microwave communications tower operated by Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative, about 3.3 miles southeast (148 degrees) of SME, was destroyed. The tower was located on a hill, with a base elevation of 1,250 feet, and was 460 feet high. Red obstruction lights were mounted on the tower, which was painted with alternating red and white 35-foot segments. Guy wires radiated out from the tower in three directions. At the base, they extended out 372 feet in each direction. The angle of the outboard wires was 51 degrees upward toward the top of the tower. One outer wire, which measured 5/8 inch in diameter, was found on the northwest side of the tower, with a freshly scrapped area, and a slight bend. This was located about 300 feet from the wire's base-attach point.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate for multi-engine land airplanes, and a commercial pilot certificate for single engine land and sea airplanes. His last FAA first class airman medical certificate was issued on April 26, 1999, and contained a limitation to wear corrective lenses for near and intermediate vision. On his airmen medical application, he listed his total flight experience as 19,200 hours with 140 hours in the preceding 6 months. On his insurance application dated May 12, 1999, he listed his total pilot-in-command flight experience as 15,345 hours with 1,150 hours in make and model. When he attended SIMCOM training in August 1998, he listed his total flight experience as 18,000 hours with 14,000 multi-engine, and 1,950 hours of instrument time. Based upon previous flight experience, the pilot was estimated to have accumulated at least an additional 120 hours of flight experience since his insurance application. The pilot last received instrument and recurrent system training from SIMCOM on November 1999.

In addition, the pilot held a mechanics certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings.

The pilot's son was also an airline transport pilot, who worked as a simulator instructor in corporate turbine airplanes. He described his father as a pilot who was more comfortable with conventional cockpit displays than the glass cockpit displays. He also said that he had flown with his father several times, and based upon his instructing background, he had not seen a problem with his father's flying.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was maintained under the manufacturer's inspection program, which consisted of four phase checks. The recommended time interval between phases was 200 hours with a requirement to complete all phases within 24 months. The airplane had last received a phase one inspection on November 16, 1999, with an airframe time of 9,057.9 hours. The last prior phase check was conducted on April 2, 1999, with an airframe total time of 8,841.8 hours. The maintenance records, which included airframe, engine, and propeller logbooks for the airplane, were not located. The pilot's son reported the log books were kept in a leather case. Further, a search of the pilot's vehicle, the hanger where the airplane was kept, and the pilot's residence failed to find them. There was no evidence of burned leather case in the airplane wreckage. The airplane was estimated to have flown about 60 hour since the last inspection.

According to FAA microfilm records, on October 31, 1995, a Garmin GPS155 was installed. The FAA Form 337 noted that the GPS system was placarded "GPS Not Approved For IFR", pending flight manual supplement approval. There were no further records to indicate IFR approval or subsequent removal of the unit.

According to an avionics shop, the week before the accident flight, the airplane had been in the shop for installation of a new flight director. According to the person who performed the installation, the existing flight director could not be coupled to the autopilot, and was changed to eliminate that problem. The maintenance release was dated January 13, 2000.

The pilot accepted the airplane after the change in flight directors, and returned it to his home base at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. There were no other flights in the airplane until the morning of January 17, when the airplane departed to Columbus, Ohio.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

Somerset airport was 927 feet above mean sea level (MSL), and was equipped with an automatic weather observation system (AWOS). The 1141, and 1201 observations reported a ceiling of 700 feet over...