N24695

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn February 16, 2017, about 1400 eastern standard time, a Beech C23, N24695, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain after takeoff from Barrow County Airport (WDR), Winder, Georgia. The flight instructor and student pilot were fatally injured. The airplane was privately owned and operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight.

Review of airport security camera video revealed that the flight instructor and student pilot walked to the airplane about 1317. There were no witnesses to the takeoff nor was the takeoff captured by the airport security camera system.

About 1357, a pilot who was inbound to WDR while about 5 miles north of the airport, heard a pilot transmit that they were departing Runway 31. The pilot looked for the departing airplane but never saw it. He then landed on Runway 31 and taxied to the ramp.

About 1400, a witness observed the accident airplane pass from left to right in front of her (from north to south) as she was traveling east on Highway 82 near the northwest corner of the airport property. She reported that the airplane seemed to be flying low and fast and that, as it went over the highway, it began to nose down, then level out, then "tilt to the right about 1/4 or less." The witness then lost sight of the airplane due to trees. She thought she saw "a small puff of gray to the outside edge of the tree line" when she looked back. She later realized that this may have been the trees moving as the airplane struck them. She had her radio on in the vehicle and did not hear any sounds associated with the airplane. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONStudent Pilot

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and pilot records, the student pilot's most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on January 30, 2017. At the time of the accident, he had accrued about 8 hours of flight experience.

Flight Instructor

According to FAA and pilot records, the flight instructor held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multiengine land, and commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land. He also held a flight instructor certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on September 12, 2016. On the application for that certificate, he reported that he had accrued 1,650 total hours of flight experience of which 1,452 hours were as pilot-in-command; 530 of those hours were as a flight instructor. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONAccording to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1973. Over the intervening years between the date of manufacture and the accident, it had been modified from its original configuration by multiple alterations and additions, including the installation of a Garmin GS-430 GPS/Nav/Comm, an S-TEC System 30 autopilot, an intercom system, a strobe type tail anti-collision light, and a crankcase air/oil separator.

On July 1, 1993, an FAA Form 337 was filed with the FAA that indicated that the firewall bulkhead at Station 68 had been replaced with a new firewall bulkhead and doubler plate.

The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on October 3, 2016. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accrued about 2,680 total hours of operation, and the engine had accrued about 682 hours of operation since its last overhaul on January 2, 1998.

The airplane was purchased by the student pilot and a friend of the student pilot (co-owner) on January 7, 2017. The co-owner stated that, after purchasing the airplane, he, the student pilot, and the flight instructor flew the airplane from Picayune, Mississippi, to Winder, Georgia. He had personally flown the airplane about 11 hours since the purchase, with about 6 of those hours as dual instruction with the accident flight instructor. He stated that the airplane had always performed well without any known mechanical defect that would have compromised safety in flight. The airplane was last refueled when he added 40 gallons of fuel to the tanks on January 14, 2017. The last time that the airplane had been operated before the day of the accident was February 4, 2017, when the co-owner took it on a 1.6-hour local solo flight.

The co-owner reported that, on the occasions he had flown the airplane, they had luggage, airplane records, and manuals onboard and that he had always operated the airplane with at least two or three other people onboard, with the exception of the solo flight on February 4. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONAt 1345, the reported weather at WDR included wind from 320° at 8 knots gusting to 14 knots, temperature 14°C, dew point -9°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONAccording to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1973. Over the intervening years between the date of manufacture and the accident, it had been modified from its original configuration by multiple alterations and additions, including the installation of a Garmin GS-430 GPS/Nav/Comm, an S-TEC System 30 autopilot, an intercom system, a strobe type tail anti-collision light, and a crankcase air/oil separator.

On July 1, 1993, an FAA Form 337 was filed with the FAA that indicated that the firewall bulkhead at Station 68 had been replaced with a new firewall bulkhead and doubler plate.

The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on October 3, 2016. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accrued about 2,680 total hours of operation, and the engine had accrued about 682 hours of operation since its last overhaul on January 2, 1998.

The airplane was purchased by the student pilot and a friend of the student pilot (co-owner) on January 7, 2017. The co-owner stated that, after purchasing the airplane, he, the student pilot, and the flight instructor flew the airplane from Picayune, Mississippi, to Winder, Georgia. He had personally flown the airplane about 11 hours since the purchase, with about 6 of those hours as dual instruction with the accident flight instructor. He stated that the airplane had always performed well without any known mechanical defect that would have compromised safety in flight. The airplane was last refueled when he added 40 gallons of fuel to the tanks on January 14, 2017. The last time that the airplane had been operated before the day of the accident was February 4, 2017, when the co-owner took it on a 1.6-hour local solo flight.

The co-owner reported that, on the occasions he had flown the airplane, they had luggage, airplane records, and manuals onboard and that he had always operated the airplane with at least two or three other people onboard, with the exception of the solo flight on February 4. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe accident site was located about 500 ft west of the runway 13 threshold adjacent to an airport access road, outside of the airport security fence, within and along a tree line, which was oriented on a 331°/151° magnetic heading. The tree line which ran parallel to the airport access road, was bordered on its east side by the airport security fence, and on its west side by a barbed wire fence which ran along the edge of an open field. The wreckage path, which was about 65 ft long, ran almost parallel within and along the tree line.

The airplane had struck trees while traveling on a magnetic heading about 146°. Evidence of propeller strike marks were observed on several trees, along with cut limbs and separated branches.

When first responders initially arrived, they attempted to cut through the airport security fence with a rotary saw to gain access to the wreckage. During this attempt, fuel from the airplane's left fuel tank ignited which they extinguished.

Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane separated into several sections during the impact sequence.

The left wing remained attached to the aft section of the fuselage. The right wing was attached to the aft fuselage with the leading edge separated from the spar. The right wing trailing edge, including the aileron and flap, were attached to the main spar.

The wreckage displayed crush, compression, fragmentation, and tearing damage, with a large prominent depression in the forward cabin area which matched the diameter of a tree where most of the main wreckage came to rest. The manual flap handle was in the retracted (0°) position and the wing flaps were in the retracted position. The magneto switch was in the "BOTH" position. The landing light switch was in the "OFF" position, the navigation lights switch was in the "ON" position, the rotating beacon and strobes switch was in the "ROTATING BEACON ON" position, the pitot heat switch was off, and the A/P (autopilot) switch was in the "OFF" position.

The "BATTERY & ALT" and "ALT" master switches were in the "ON" positions, and the "FUEL BOOST" switch was off. The fuel selector valve was in the "R TANK" position, and there was no evidence of blockage in the valve or fuel lines. The throttle and mixture controls were full forward, and the carburetor heat knob was in the off position.

The airspeed indicator indicated 0 miles per hour. The attitude indicator indicated about a 45° left bank angle and a 40° nose-down attitude. The altimeter indicated about 740 ft msl. The Kollsman window indicated about 29.99 inches of mercury. The vertical speed indictor indicated an approximate 100 ft per minute descent, and the directional gyro indicated about 126°. The pitot tube did not reveal any evidence of blockage.

Control continuity was established from the ailerons, stabilator, and rudder, to the breaks in the system to the flight controls in the cockpit. There was no evidence of any inflight fire, explosion, or structural failure.

The propeller remained attached to the engine crankshaft flange. The engine, along wi...