N601PC

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On August 22, 2008, about 1750 mountain daylight time, a Beech A100 (King Air), N601PC, impacted hilly terrain about 1.2 miles south of the Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY), Moab, Utah, shortly after takeoff. The Leavitt Group Wings, LLC., owned and operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The certificated commercial pilot and nine passengers were killed. The airplane was substantially damaged during the impact sequence and post crash fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that was destined for Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC), Cedar City, Utah. No flight plan had been filed.

According to a representative from the Leavitt Group Wings, LLC., Southwest Skin and Cancer LLC., leased the airplane under a timeshare agreement with the Leavitt Group Wings, LLC. Once a month, Southwest Skin and Cancer medical personnel would travel to the company's satellite clinics and provide care to residents in the area. The trips were normally a day in length, with an early morning departure from Cedar City. Medical personnel would work all day at one of the satellite clinics and then return to Cedar City in the evening.

Witness Information

There were no known witnesses to the accident sequence. Two pilots were at the airport, awaiting the arrival of their passenger. One pilot remained indoors in the lounge area, while the other pilot was outside of the terminal. Both pilots recalled seeing the pilot. The pilot waiting in the lounge spoke briefly to the accident pilot about flying, but did not hear the engines start up or hear the airplane depart. The pilot outside of the terminal heard the engines start up, as well as heard the airplane depart.

Both pilots reported also seeing passengers arrive at the airport. The pilot outside of the terminal was talking on the the telephone when he saw a passenger van arrive at the airport. He observed 9 people exit the van with 4 plastic file boxes and 3 silver cases. The pilot did not observe the passengers board the airplane, but was outside when the engines were started. He stated that it was too loud to continue his telephone conversation so he returned to the airport lobby. The witness stated that there were no unusual sounds emanating from the engines. About 15 minutes later, the pilot that had been on the telephone went outside and observed smoke in the distance.

Several people at the airport on the day of the accident reported either seeing or interacting with the accident pilot. They all reported that he was in what appeared to be a good mood, very willing to chat, and did not display any indications of having any physical ailments.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 41, held an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate with airplane single and multi-engine land ratings. The ATP certificate was issued on July 31, 2008. The pilot also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. The pilot had recently received a type rating for the Eclipse EA-500S.

An examination of the pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated 1,817.5 hours of flight time as of August 15, 2008. Of that total time, 855.8-hours were in multi-engine airplanes and 698.1 hours were in turboprop airplanes. The pilot had flown 38.4 hours in the preceding 30 days before the accident; 32.8 hours were in the Eclipse EA-500S.

The pilot had completed his Beech C-90/A100 Beech (King Air) initial training on October 21, 2005, and his most recent recurrent training in the King Air was completed on September 30, 2007. Both his initial training and recurrent training were performed at the Recurrent Training Center, Savoy, Illinois.

On June 13, 2008, the pilot completed Eclipse Aviation Upset Recovery Training, which consisted of two flights (1.4 hours) in an L-39C Albatross. From August 2 to August 15, 2008, the pilot accumulated 32.8 hours in the Eclipse 500 while participating in Eclipse Factory Training, which included flying with an Eclipse mentor pilot.

The accident pilot was first hired by Leavitt Group Wings, LLC., on October 10, 2005. On August 31, 2006, he left the company to fly for Sky West Airlines; however, after a few months he was furloughed. On November 6, 2006, he was rehired at Leavitt Group Wings, LLC. The pilot held two positions with the Leavitt Group; he was a corporate pilot with Leavitt Group Wings, LLC., and an information technology (IT) specialist with the Leavitt Group.

72-hour History

According to the pilot's spouse, on August 19, he flew from Cedar City, Utah, to Santa Monica, California, with three other Leavitt Group Wings, LLC, members. While in Santa Monica the pilot worked in his IT capacity at Pridemark-Everest, a Leavitt Group insurance agency, in Santa Ana, California. He returned to Cedar City on the evening of August 20, arriving home between 1900 and 2000, and going to bed at his normal bed time of 2200.

On August 21, he worked a normal day in his IT capacity, and did not fly. According to his wife, his normal routine was to provide a light breakfast for the passengers he was flying, and he therefore spent the evening of August 21 preparing food for the next day's early morning flight. He went to bed between 2200 and 2300. On August 22, the morning of the accident, he left the house by 0615. Around 1630 the pilot called his wife saying that they were getting ready to leave Moab, and that he expected to be home between 1900 and 1930. His wife stated that he appeared to be in a good mood during the conversation, and that he did not mention any physical ailments.

According to the Leavitt Group Wings, LLC. records, while performing maintenance on their cellular phone system, the account belonging to the pilot was identified. The company provided the Safety Board with the last contact their system had with the pilot's cellular phone, which was on August 22, 2008, at 1745:23.

Right Front Seat Passenger

The individual occupying the copilot's seat (front right seat) was a 60-year-old medical doctor employed by Southwest Skin Cancer Group. A search of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database did not reveal any records associated with the passenger. Family members reported that he had some interest in aviation but had never been trained to operate an aircraft or other similar aspects of flight.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a 1975 Beech A100, serial number B-225. The airplane was maintained and inspected in accordance with 14 CFR Part 91.409(f) (3). The operator utilized the Raytheon Aircraft Beech King Air 100 Series Scheduled inspection Program, as per Beech King Air Maintenance Manual 5-00-00/5-20-00. A review of the airplane’s logbooks revealed that the last inspection, a Phase II inspection, had been performed on July 18, 2008. As of that date, the airframe total time was 9,263.3 hours, with 8,674 total cycles, and the Hobbs meter reading of 1,512.4 hours.

The twin-engine airplane was equipped with Walter Engine Incorporated turboprop engines, which were installed on the airframe on May 31, 2005, in accordance with the Walter engines supplemental type certificate (STC) SA02036CH. The engines were maintained in accordance with the Walter Engine Maintenance Manual 0982302. Both engines had the same part number 100-590038-17. The left engine had a serial number of 044022, and the right engine serial number was 051001. Both engines' total time since new was recorded as 879.1 hours at the last phase inspection dated July 18, 2008.

The engine manufacturer has a 300-hour inspection maintenance schedule. On October 9, 2007, at 677.4 hours, the left engine fuel control was repaired. On July 18, 2008, at 879.1 hours, the right engine fuel control was repaired. Additional 300-hour inspections took place on August 30, 2005, at 82.1 hours; June 1, 2006, at 287.6 hours, and March 6, 2007, at 497.1 hours.

The airplane was originally certificated with Pratt and Whitney – Canada PT6A-28 turboprop engines, and Hartzell propeller assemblies model HC-B4TN-3A. The Walter M601E-11A engines and AVIA Letnany propeller assemblies were installed in accordance with STC SA02036CH. The Walter STC package, pertaining to the performance data of the Walter engine and AVIA propeller, submitted to and approved by the FAA, indicated that the airplane performance was 'equal to or better than' the engine and propeller combination that was originally certified for the airplane.

As part of the STC AVIA Letnany zero-time since overhaul propellers were installed on the engines, and were maintained in accordance with the AVIA Propeller Maintenance Manual.

The left propeller, which replaced the propeller originally installed at the time of the STC conversion after the original propeller struck a deer during takeoff, was a model V 510 /90 A/B, serial number 14 068 1156. The total time in service was 3,647.58 hours prior to its zero-time overhaul. The propeller was the only part of the airplane that came into contact with the deer. After installing the new propeller, Honest Air performed the inspection items listed on the Walter Maintenance Manual 300-hour inspection checklist.

The left propeller assembly had a hub gasket resealed on July 18, 2008, and 797.0 hours had been accrued since it had been overhauled.

The right propeller assembly model number was V 510 /90 A/B, serial number 12 068 1105 with a total time in service of 6,000.00 hours prior to its zero-time overhaul.

Cockpit Voice Recorder

The airplane was manufactured in 1975 and was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, nor was one required for operation under 14 CFR Part 91.609 (Flight Data Recorders and Cockpit Voice Recorders). Part 91.609 (c ) (1) states in part that, "no person may operate a U.S. civil registered, multiengine, turbine-powered airplane or rotorcraft hav...