N1399G

On August 14, 2005, at 0630 central daylight time, a Cessna 402B, N1399G, registered to and operated by Aircraft Wholesale LLC., collided with the ground 3 miles southeast of the Shelby County Airport, Alabaster, Alabama. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Bessemer Airport, Bessemer, Alabama, at 0605 August 14, 2005.

The flight departed the airport on a ferry permit heading southeast. 25 minutes into the flight, at a cruise altitude of 3500 feet, the pilot noticed a significant loss of power from the left engine followed by the left engine failing. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and the left engine was feathered. The right engine would not generate more then 29 inches of manifold pressure without running rough. The airplane turned toward Shelby County Airport, the closest airport to the airplane's current position, and the pilot attempted to perform an emergency landing. The airplane continued to lose altitude and at 900 feet the pilot chose to force land on a road, 3 miles southeast of the Shelby Airport. The airplane collided with a raised manhole cover and two roadside objects upon landing. Examination of the airplane found the airplane to the right side of the road with the right gear detached. The right wing had two tears in the leading edge. The left engine was run after the accident for a period of four minutes at 1800 RPM. The prop was cycled out of feather, the magnetos, oil pressure, and fuel pressure were checked. All engine checks were satisfactory to normal standards. The airplane had not been flown in over two years and sat outside a hanger for two weeks prior to being flown with no fuel in either tank. The fuel tanks were filled to capacity the morning of the accident flight. No contaminates were found in the fuel.