N1486P

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 29, 2012, about 1800 central daylight time, a Piper PA-23-150, N1486P, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after a partial loss of power when it impacted trees and terrain about 3 miles southwest of Canton, Missouri. The pilot and passenger received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight, which was not on a flight plan, departed from Pinckneyville-DuQuoin Airport (PJY), Pinckneyville, Illinois, about 1600, and was en route to the Antique Airfield, a private airstrip near Blakesburg, Iowa.

A witness reported that the route of flight that the pilot commonly traveled from PJY to Blakesburg was direct from PJY to the airport at Litchfield, Illinois, and then west to the Mississippi River, while staying clear of the St. Louis Class B airspace, and then north following the Mississippi River to Blakesburg. Using that route of flight, the distance from PJY to the accident site was about 187 nautical miles. At an average airspeed of 120 knots, the time en route was calculated to be about one hour and thirty-five minutes. The airplane was flying under visual flight rules and the transponder code was 1200. There was no radar track data available that identified the airplane or its actual route of flight. There were no witnesses to the airplane's impact with terrain.

A witness, who was a 75-hour private pilot, stated that he was in the parking lot at the Wakonda State Park around 1800 to 1830 when he observed a twin-engine airplane flying overhead on a northerly heading. He reported that the airplane was about 2,000 feet in level flight, and that the left propeller blades were not rotating. The accident site was about 6.5 miles north of the parking lot.

A witness, who lived about a quarter mile from the accident site, reported that about 1745 he observed a low flying airplane and heard a "crunching" sound, but there was no smoke or other evidence to indicate the airplane crashed. He later observed the airplane wreckage in a field when he was driving by and he notified local authorities of the accident. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe 74-year-old commercial pilot held single-engine land, single-engine sea, and multi-engine land ratings. He held a third-class medical certificate that was issued September 10, 2010. The pilot's logbook was destroyed in a hangar fire in August 2011. Remaining pilot records indicated that the pilot had about 6,459 total flight hours and 809 multi-engine hours. It is unknown how many hours he had flown in the make and model of the accident airplane. The pilot also held an airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic's rating and had inspection authorization (IA). The airplane was purchased by the pilot on October 15, 2011. He performed the last annual maintenance inspection of the airplane and subsequent aircraft maintenance. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was a twin-engine Piper PA-23-150, serial number 23-255, manufactured in 1956, powered by 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320 engines. It was manufactured with a "Super Custom" configuration which included two 18-gallon auxiliary fuel tanks and a fifth passenger seat, and it had a maximum gross weight of 3,500 pounds. The airplane's original logbooks were lost or destroyed in 1995, and the first entry in the current logbooks was dated October 1, 1995. The available airplane records indicated that the airplane total time was 5,724 hours; and the left engine total time was 3,609 hours, with 1,773 hours since major overhaul (SMOH); and the right engine total time was 3,624 hours, with 1,567 hours SMOH. The last annual inspection was completed on October 15, 2011, but no total airplane time or engine time was shown on the logbook entry. The logbook entry was made by the accident pilot/IA. The airplane had flown about 21 hours since March 10, 2010.

The last available weight and balance found for the airplane dated back to 1962, and the empty weight listed was 2,348 pounds. A witness reported that the airplane was topped off before the flight. A fuel receipt showed that 62.23 gallons of fuel were purchased by the pilot about 1508 on the day of the accident at the Sparta Community Airport (SAR), Sparta, Illinois, located about 19 nautical miles northwest of PJY. The airplane's main fuel tanks held 72 gallons of fuel which weighed 432 pounds. It is not known if the auxiliary fuel tanks contained any fuel. The total weight of the pilot and passenger was about 410 pounds. The baggage found at the accident site was weighed and it totaled about 320 pounds. The 4 gallons of oil weighed 30 pounds. The estimated takeoff weight of the airplane was about 3,540 pounds, not including any fuel that might have been in the outboard auxiliary fuel tanks. If the auxiliary fuel tanks were topped off, the takeoff weight of the airplane was about 3,756 pounds. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONAt 1754, the surface weather observation at the Quincy Regional Airport-Baldwin Field (UIN), Quincy, Illinois, located about 20 miles southeast of the accident, was: wind calm; visibility 10 miles; sky clear; temperature 33 degrees Celsius; dew point 15 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.02 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane was a twin-engine Piper PA-23-150, serial number 23-255, manufactured in 1956, powered by 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320 engines. It was manufactured with a "Super Custom" configuration which included two 18-gallon auxiliary fuel tanks and a fifth passenger seat, and it had a maximum gross weight of 3,500 pounds. The airplane's original logbooks were lost or destroyed in 1995, and the first entry in the current logbooks was dated October 1, 1995. The available airplane records indicated that the airplane total time was 5,724 hours; and the left engine total time was 3,609 hours, with 1,773 hours since major overhaul (SMOH); and the right engine total time was 3,624 hours, with 1,567 hours SMOH. The last annual inspection was completed on October 15, 2011, but no total airplane time or engine time was shown on the logbook entry. The logbook entry was made by the accident pilot/IA. The airplane had flown about 21 hours since March 10, 2010.

The last available weight and balance found for the airplane dated back to 1962, and the empty weight listed was 2,348 pounds. A witness reported that the airplane was topped off before the flight. A fuel receipt showed that 62.23 gallons of fuel were purchased by the pilot about 1508 on the day of the accident at the Sparta Community Airport (SAR), Sparta, Illinois, located about 19 nautical miles northwest of PJY. The airplane's main fuel tanks held 72 gallons of fuel which weighed 432 pounds. It is not known if the auxiliary fuel tanks contained any fuel. The total weight of the pilot and passenger was about 410 pounds. The baggage found at the accident site was weighed and it totaled about 320 pounds. The 4 gallons of oil weighed 30 pounds. The estimated takeoff weight of the airplane was about 3,540 pounds, not including any fuel that might have been in the outboard auxiliary fuel tanks. If the auxiliary fuel tanks were topped off, the takeoff weight of the airplane was about 3,756 pounds. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane impacted trees and terrain in an area of rolling hills, woods, and open fields. A tree about 60-70 feet in height was initially impacted. An 8-foot outboard section of the left wing was found about 30 feet from the tree in the debris field that was on a 100 degree magnetic heading. The leading edge of the wing section exhibited a semi-circular indentation, which was consistent with a wings level impact with the tree. The left propeller was found along the tree line stuck in the ground in a near vertical position. The initial ground scar from the airplane impacting the ground was found about 93 feet from the initial tree strike. The main wreckage came to rest about 40 feet from the initial ground scar with the wreckage facing in the opposite direction of the debris field. There was no post impact fire, although there was evidence of fuel blight in the vegetation and trees. A tree branch about 6 inches in diameter was found with a diagonal slash through it that was consistent with a propeller slash with paint transfer.

The fuselage was found on its right side on top of the right wing in the field. The nose section was compressed back to the instrument panel, and the cockpit sustained significant structural deformation. The avionics and instruments were impact damaged. The right engine's oil temperature, oil pressure, and fuel pressure gauge needles were all found in the operating range; the left engine's oil temperature, oil pressure, and fuel pressure gauge needles were all found at low or zero readings. The engine power lever quadrant was separated from the instrument panel mounting. The controls were impact damaged, but there was very little movement of the levers when they were manipulated. The right engine's throttle, mixture, and propeller controls were found positioned forward; and the left engine's throttle, mixture, and propeller controls were found pulled back relative to the right engine's control levers. The fuel control panel, which was mounted between the front seats, exhibited light impact damage. Both left and right engine fuel primers were found in the locked position. The fuel tank selector levers were found in the main tank position for both wings with the levers mechanical detent locking guards in place. The cross feed lever was in the off position. The landing gear control lever and the flap control lever were found in the up position. The pilot seats remained attached to their seat tracks, but the seat tracks were partially separated from the cabin floor. About 320 pounds of cargo, consisting mostly of camping equipment, food, clothing...