N72054

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On December 11, 2015, about 1422 eastern standard time, a Beech A36, N72054, was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain shortly after takeoff from Nemacolin Airport (PA88), Farmington, Pennsylvania. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was privately owned and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was destined for Montgomery County Airport (GAI), Gaithersburg, Maryland.

PA88 was located on the property of the Nemacolin Woodland Resort. A witness who was staying at the resort, who viewed the airplane from his hotel room which was located on the northwest side of the runway reported that, after takeoff from runway 23, the airplane's landing gear retracted, and the airplane appeared to be departing the area; however, the airplane continued to turn as if entering the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. The landing gear extended, and the airplane began to descend. The airplane continued to descend in a turn consistent with a left base for runway 23; the witness then lost sight of the airplane behind terrain. Shortly after, he observed smoke. Another witness who was standing about 2,500 ft southeast of the runway saw the airplane pass overhead with the landing gear down. He stated that the airplane was "pretty low" and that the engine sounded normal. He saw the airplane bank to the left, and then he lost sight of it behind buildings; he then heard an impact and saw flames and smoke.

An onboard GPS recorded data for the accident flight. The recording began at 1415:57 near the airport parking area. The airplane subsequently taxied to the end of runway 23 for takeoff. Recorded GPS altitude at this time was about 1,975 ft. The takeoff roll began at 1420:18. At 1421:00, at a GPS altitude of 2,184 ft and about 2,500 ft from the departure end of the runway, the airplane began a left, climbing turn. The turn continued, and the airplane reached a maximum recorded altitude of 2,457 ft at 1421:36. At this time, its position was consistent with a left downwind for runway 23. The airplane descended as it continued the downwind leg, then began a left turn about 1422. Shortly thereafter, the airplane descended through 2,150 ft at 69 knots groundspeed. The last recorded data point was at 1422:22.

Figure 1. Plotted GPS Data – Complete Accident Flight.

Figure 2. Plotted GPS Data – End of Accident Flight.

About 1423, landscaping personnel called the resort's security dispatch and reported the accident. Security personnel arrived to find the airplane fully engulfed in flames and one passenger laying outside of the airplane on the golf course.

The passenger, who was severely burned during the accident, had egressed from the airplane by himself and was pulled from the accident site by resort guests. He advised first responders that his father (who was flying the airplane) and his friend were onboard the airplane. He remembered taking off from the runway, the door opening and feeling wind, and then being surrounded by flames. He was transported to a burn center and succumbed to his injuries about 2 days later.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and pilot records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane, and a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for helicopter and instrument helicopter. His most recent application for an FAA third-class medical certificate was dated February 22, 2014. The pilot had accrued about 3,261 total hours of flight experience, of which 2,663 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

According to FAA airworthiness records and airplane maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1984. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on November 11, 2015. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued about 4,448.5 total hours of operation, and the engine had accrued about 1,158.8 total hours of operation since major overhaul.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The 1435 reported weather at Garrett County Airport (2G4), Oakland, Maryland, located 17 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, included wind from 250° at 11 knots gusting to 19 knots, 10 miles visibility, broken clouds at 1,300 ft, temperature 11°C, dew point 8°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

PA88 was located about 1 mile east of Farmington, Pennsylvania. It was classified by the FAA as a privately owned, private-use airport. The airport elevation was 2,010 ft above mean sea level and the asphalt runway was configured in a 5/23 orientation. The runway measured 3,980 ft long by 49 ft wide. The runway 23 threshold was displaced 935 ft due to trees off the approach end of the runway. The runway was equipped with medium intensity runway edge lights, and a precision approach path indicator system which, at the time of the accident, was disabled.

FLIGHT RECORDERS

The accident airplane was equipped with a handheld Garmin GPSMAP 39x/49x series GPS.

The unit had suffered extreme thermal damage, but an internal examination revealed the non-volatile memory chip was intact, and data from the accident flight was extracted.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIOJN

The airplane came to rest in a heavily wooded area located next to a golf course.

Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane had broken apart after striking trees in a left-wing-down, nose-low attitude. During the impact sequence, the main cabin portion of the airplane traveled about 152 ft before impacting the forest floor and coming to rest, facing the opposite direction of travel, with the aft fuselage and empennage lying behind it in an inverted position. The engine, left outboard wing, right wing flap, right main landing gear, and engine cowlings were all separated from their mounting positions and were strewn throughout the accident site. Further examination also revealed the presence of propeller strikes on broken tree branches and tree trunks that littered the ground, along with areas of burned underbrush and fire-damaged trees.

Examination of the wreckage revealed that the landing gear was in the down position, and all major portions of the airplane's structure were present at the accident site. No evidence of any preimpact failure of the airplane structure was discovered.

Examination of the flight control system revealed no evidence of any preimpact failure or malfunction, and flight control continuity was established from the flight control surfaces to the rudder pedals and control wheels through breaks in the system consistent with overstress failure.

Examination of the fuel system revealed that all four fuel caps were closed and locked, and the fuel selector valve was in the left main tank position.

Examination of the propeller and engine also revealed no evidence of any preimpact failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller remained attached to the propeller flange and exhibited a circumferential fracture just aft of the propeller flange. All three blades exhibited S-bending, twisting, and chordwise scratching. Oil was present in the rocker boxes and oil sump, and the oil filter was absent of debris. Crankshaft and valve train continuity was confirmed, and compression and suction were observed on all six cylinders.

Examination of the interior of the cylinders with a lighted borescope did not reveal evidence of any preimpact damage to the piston domes, cylinder walls, or valves. Both magnetos were functional and produced spark at all towers.

Examination of the remains of the utility doors, which were located on the aft right side of the fuselage, and the forward cabin door, which was located on the forward right side of the fuselage, revealed that most of the door structures had been burned away. Further examination revealed that the locking mechanisms were present and did not show any evidence of malfunction or failure.

Examination of the forward cabin door revealed that the upper latching mechanism (hook) was not fully extended, and the slot in the upper fuselage frame that the hook engaged when the door was closed showed no evidence of tear-outs. Further examination also revealed that the door handle mechanism was not fully in the locked position; the lower aft latch pin, which rode in a guide inside the lower aft portion of the forward cabin door and engaged a receptacle in the lower door sill, was missing.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

According to FAA airman medical records, during his last medical examination, the pilot reported that he had no chronic medical conditions and was on no medications.

According to the report of the autopsy performed by Cyril H. Wecht and Pathology Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and the manner of death was accident. The autopsy identified minimal coronary artery disease with about 10-15% stenosis. The heart weight was not provided, but the right ventricular wall was described as 0.4-cm thick, the left ventricular wall as 1.5-cm thick, and the septum as 1.3-cm thick. Average for these thicknesses is 0.3 cm, 1.23 cm, and 1.23 cm, respectively. The remainder of the examination was unremarkable.

Toxicology testing performed at the request of the medical examiner by NMS Labs identified caffeine and 0.310 ug/ml of amphetamine in the pilot's blood.

Toxicology testing performed by the FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, identified amphetamine at 0.347 ug/ml in blood and 1.828 ug/ml in urine, as well as phenylpropanolamine in urine, but not in blood.

Amphetamine is a Schedule-II controlled substance that stimulates the central nervous system...