N79HP

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 1, 2018, about 1327 eastern standard time, a Cessna 335, N79HP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to recorded communications between the pilot and an air traffic control tower controller at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before takeoff, the pilot was instructed to fly runway heading and was told the wind was from 150° at 18 knots, with gusts to 23 knots. The flight was cleared for takeoff from runway 9, and at 1325:17, the controller instructed the pilot to contact the Pompano Beach Airpark tower. The controller then asked the pilot if he was flying low along the shoreline. At 1325:26, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar data indicated that the airplane was about 1.4 nautical miles (nm) east-northeast of the departure end of runway 9. About that time, an occupant of the airplane advised the FXE air traffic control tower, "ground we got a fire left engine turning right back." The controller stated “say again,” and the same occupant advised there was a loss of engine power from the left engine and they were turning back. The controller cleared the flight to land on any runway, and the occupant read back the clearance. At 1325:49, the controller again advised the pilot that the flight was cleared to land on any runway and asked any assistance was required. The FAA radar data correlated with data from an on-board GPS receiver. The data showed that at 1325:50, the airplane was on a northerly heading flying slightly higher than 100 ft mean sea level (msl). At 1325:58, an occupant of the airplane made a radio transmission and stated, "sink rate on uh."

According to the GPS data, at 1326:13, the airplane was on a westerly heading about 1.4 nm northeast of the departure end of runway 9 at 301 ft msl and at a groundspeed of about 110 knots, with both the altitude and speed decreasing. The airplane continued briefly on the westerly heading then turned left and flew toward the approach end of runway 27 with altitude and groundspeed continuing to decrease. While descending, the airplane flew over a building, and at the last recorded position at 1327:03, the groundspeed was 67 knots.

An employee at FXE took a video of the airplane departing from the airport. According to the video, as the airplane flew past the departure end of the runway, white smoke was observed trailing from the left engine. The camera diverted away from the airplane and ended without capturing the accident sequence.

A witness who was located about 650 ft north-northeast of the accident site reported seeing the airplane flying in a nose-low attitude and descending. He reported hearing engine noise and did not hear any sputtering. He described the sound as takeoff (high) power. He did not see any fire in-flight. He could not tell if the landing gear was extended or retracted.

A security video recording near the accident site depicted the left side of the airplane as the airplane slid on the ground with the landing gear retracted. White colored mist was noted trailing the airplane. Further examination of the video revealed an access panel on the left upper engine cowling appeared to be open, and once the airplane impacted the building, a large fireball and intense postimpact fire were observed.

PERSONNEL INFORMATIONOn March 3, 2016, and again on March 30, 2016, the pilot received a Notice of Disapproval of Application for the flight portion of his airline transport pilot certificate checkride. The checkride was conducted in a Piper PA-23 airplane. According to the Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE), on the first checkride, the pilot failed to select, tune, identify, and monitor the operational status of ground navigation equipment used for precision approaches; on the second checkride, he failed to maintain the desired altitude during precision and non-precision approaches.

A friend of the pilot, who was also a flight instructor, flew with the pilot in a Cessna 310R airplane during a night flight about 8 to 9 months before the accident. The friend reported that during the flight, he twice simulated unannounced zero-thrust for one of the engines, and on both occasions the pilot misidentified the zero-thrust engine and applied incorrect rudder input. The friend attributed the incorrect action to with the pilot having a duty day greater than 17 hours and suggested the pilot get additional flight training before flying the accident airplane.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONAccording to the airplane Type Certificate Data Sheet, the engine limits for all operations up to a critical altitude of 16,000 ft in standard atmosphere were 2,700 rpm, 300 horsepower, and 34.5 inches of mercury.

The airplane’s previous owner reported that the airplane sat without being operated for several years at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida. It was then sold, and maintenance was performed to allow it to be flown to FXE. According to the pilot who flew the airplane during the repositioning flight to FXE about 9 months before the accident, the readings for both engines were within about 20 to 25 rpm of the maximum static red-line rpm; however, just after rotation, the left engine rpm dropped to about 2,300, while the right engine rpm was still about 25 rpm below red line. While maintaining "shy" of blue line airspeed, the airplane was only climbing 100 ft per minute (fpm), which he described as "scary." He attributed the poor performance to the engines not producing full power, though both manifold pressure and engine temperature readings were normal. He continued the flight while climbing between 200 and 300 fpm and levelled off at 600 ft above ground level, which he maintained to FXE. He adjusted the right engine so the rpm matched the left, and the left engine began to operate better. After an uneventful no-flap landing at FXE, he informed the individual who was going to perform the repairs and the then-owner of the airplane not to fly it because it was unsafe.

The airplane was advertised on an internet auction website and sold to the accident pilot in early 2018. The auction listing indicated that although the early logbooks were lost, the airplane total time was 4,200 hours, and each engine had 1,046 hours since major overhaul. The listing also indicated that the times were substantiated by records and "Engines run strong with over 300 hours remain since overhaul. Aircraft needs annual. Clean inside except pilot seat is worn. Needs paint and you will have a sweet ride."

According to maintenance records found in the wreckage, an inspection consistent in scope with an annual inspection was performed on July 18, 2018. The entries for the left and right engines indicated all cylinders had a differential compression reading greater than 64 psi and 68 psi, respectively. For both engines, the fuel injectors were cleaned, and the mixture and idle rpm were adjusted. The entry for the left propeller indicated all systems were checked. The airframe maintenance record entry sign-off for the annual inspection specified that the airplane was not approved for return to service.

On July 31, 2018, the accident pilot/owner of the airplane called the South Florida FAA Flight Standards District Office to request a ferry permit for the airplane. A ferry flight permit was not issued, and on August 5, 2018, a ramp inspection of the airplane was performed by an FAA airworthiness inspector. Several discrepancies were noted during that inspection, which included, "Left engine mounts appear to be sagging." There were no discrepancies noted related to the left propeller. A condition notice (FAA Form 8620-1) was put on the airplane. A second request for a ferry permit was made on August 9, 2018, and the same inspector who performed the initial ramp inspection performed a follow-up inspection of the airplane on August 11. The inspector did not notice any apparent progress to correct the issues listed in the condition notice, and he did not issue a ferry permit.

The accident pilot/owner subsequently requested assistance from another maintenance facility on August 22, 2018. An inspection was initiated, but it was stopped after over 100 discrepancies were noted, 9 of which were associated with the left engine.

Several individuals were asked by the accident pilot/owner to either fly the airplane or accompany it on a repositioning flight to the northeast. The individuals made multiple trips to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but in all instances the airplane was not ready for the intended flight. One individual did report that progress was being made on the airplane during each of his successive three visits, but during his last visit on November 3, 2018, while performing full power engine runs, a "huge oil leak" in the left engine compartment occurred, which was from a loose oil hose b-nut. He also thought the leak was near the propeller. Several other loose hoses in the engine compartment were also found. Other discrepancies included partial loss of power from the right engine during full power engine runs, which was not corrected by use of the low or high positions of the auxiliary fuel pump. A mechanic adjusted the fuel setting, and, during subsequent full power engine runs, the left turbocharger failed. It was replaced by a mechanic about 1 week before the accident with a unit provided by the accident pilot, though the mechanic noted that the installed turbocharger appeared worse that the one that was removed. The individual subsequently told maintenance personnel the airplane was not ready and suggested the pilot have the engines removed and the airplane disassembled for transport. The accident pilot reportedly told one of the individuals that the costs of parking the airplane at FXE, and the roundtrip flights to and f...