N7345R – BEECH 95-B55 (T42A) – 2024-01-14 NTSB Accident Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On January 14, 2024, at 1125 eastern standard time, a Beechcraft 95-B-55 twin-engine airplane, N7345R, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Leyden, Massachusetts. The flight instructor, pilot receiving instruction, and a passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

A review of ADS-B data revealed that the airplane departed runway 20 at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), Westfield/Springfield, Massachusetts, about 1106. After departure, the airplane made a 180° left turn toward the north-northeast. The airplane then climbed to about 3,000 to 3,300 ft mean sea level (msl) and made four alternating left and right 360° turns while continuing to fly northbound. After the fourth 360° turn, the airplane began to climb to the north, reaching an altitude of about 4,000 ft msl. The airplane then entered a rapid descent until data ended at 1125:35. The location of the last recorded ADS-B data point was coincident with the accident site (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Plotted ADS-B data of entire flight (yellow line), including the departure airport (blue) and area of wreckage (orange).

The flight was not receiving any air traffic control services, and there were no recorded radio communications to or from the flight.

Several witnesses heard and/or observed the airplane. One eyewitness was walking his dog when he first heard the airplane’s engines and looked up. He said the airplane was “trying to gain altitude” and “then stopped” before the nose of the airplane dropped and it “made a straight line” toward the ground. The airplane “corkscrewed” straight down and went out of view. The witness said the airplane, which he estimated was about 3/4-mile away from him, descended “fast.” From the time he first observed the airplane until it went out of sight was about 8 seconds. The witness described the weather conditions as very windy and cold with good visibility.

A second witness said she heard and saw the airplane flying overhead. The airplane was flying “somewhat erratically.” It eventually flew east over a wooded area, then “turned nose down and spiraled out of sight.”

A couple who was hiking with their dog in the woods stated that the sound of the airplane’s “engine” caught their attention. They both stated that the “airplane’s engine” was really loud and “clunky.” It then shut off, before it restarted. When it restarted, it was much quieter.

Another witness said he heard the engine rpms “fluctuate drastically,” cutting in and out, and the airplane sounded like “it was struggling to stay going.”

According to the husband of the rear-seat passenger, she took a photograph with her mobile phone during the flight about 10 minutes before the accident. The image shows that the pilot receiving instruction was seated in the front left seat with his right hand on the throttle control levers, and the flight instructor was seated in the front right seat. Neither of the flight instructor’s hands appear to be near the engine controls or on the control yoke. Several engine instruments were visible in the photograph and, based on what could be seen of their readings, both engines appear to operating at the time the photograph was taken (see figure 2). The horizon is visible with gray cloud bases above the airplane’s altitude.”

Figure 2: Photograph taken by rear-seat passenger about 10 minutes before the accident.

PILOT INFORMATION

The flight instructor held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi-engine land, as well as commercial privileges with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea, glider, lighter than air (balloon) and rotorcraft-helicopter, with an instrument rating in airplane and rotorcraft helicopter. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine and multi-engine, rotorcraft-helicopter and gyroplane, and glider, and instrument airplane and rotorcraft helicopter. His last FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on May 4, 2023. A review of his pilot logbooks revealed that he had accrued a total of about 11,662 flight hours. He had about 4,450 total flight hours in multi-engine airplanes, of which about 50 hours were in the same airplane make and model as the accident airplane.

The pilot receiving instruction held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine and multi-engine land, and a rating for instrument airplane. A review of his logbook revealed that, as of September 2, 2023, he had logged about 353 total flight hours, of which 9 hours were in a multi-engine airplane. None of these hours were in the same airplane make and model as the accident airplane. The last time the pilot entered a flight in a multi-engine airplane into his logbook was February 2013. His last flight review was July 20, 2023. The pilot was receiving instruction to get current in multi-engine airplane operations. This was his first flight in the airplane, and with the flight instructor.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

Weather reported at Orange Municipal Airport (ORE), Orange, Massachusetts, about 12 miles east of the accident site, at 1152, included wind from 220° at 11 kts gusting to 23 kts, visibility 10 miles, broken clouds at 4,600 ft, temperature 2°C, dew point of -7° C, and a barometric pressure setting of 29.68 inches of mercury.

At the time of the accident, two AIRMETs were issued and active, including AIRMET Zulu for moderate icing conditions.

There was also a SIGMET for occasional severe turbulence between 3,000 and 16,000 ft msl due to strong low-level winds.

AIRPLANE INFORMATION

The Beech 95-B-55 was a six-seat, twin-engine airplane that was powered by two Continental IO-470-L reciprocating engines. A unique design with this airplane model, as compared to most other light twin-engine airplanes, was the layout of the power quadrant (engine controls). The throttle control levers were in the middle, with the propeller control levers on the left and mixture control levers on the right, making the throttle control levers equally accessible to both front seat occupants. (Most other light twin-engine airplanes had the throttle control levers on the left, the propeller control levers in the middle, and the mixture control levers on the right.)

The airplane was equipped with pilot-operated deice and anti-ice systems. The windshield and both propeller systems had anti-icing (alcohol) systems, and the pitot had an integral heating element. Both wings, both horizontal stabilizers, and the vertical stabilizer were equipped with inflatable pneumatic deice boots.

WRECKAGE INFORMATION

The airplane impacted terrain located in the Leyden Wildlife Management Area. It came to rest in a clearing on a shallow hill on a magnetic heading of about 260°. All major components of the airplane were located at the accident site, and there was no postimpact fire. The disposition of the wreckage was consistent with the airplane landing in a relatively flat attitude with little forward movement. Both wings, along with their respective engines and propeller systems, remained attached to the fuselage. The right wing impacted a tree about mid-span. The tail section was partially separated from the empennage but remained attached via control cables.

A review of photos taken by the Massachusetts State Police upon their arrival on scene about 2.5 hours after the accident revealed some airframe icing on the airplane’s left wing, left engine cowling, and nose baggage area.

An on-scene investigation conducted the following morning found the airplane covered with a light coating of dry snow due to snow squalls that had moved through the area after the accident. Once the snow was brushed away, some airframe icing was observed on the leading edge of both horizontal stabilizers, the leading edge of the rudder, and both wings. Ice was also observed on the left and right engine cowlings, the front face of one propeller blade on the left engine, and the navigational antennas located on the vertical stabilizer.

Flight control continuity was established from the flight control surfaces to their respective controls in the cockpit. The right rudder cable and trim cable were found broken in tensile overload and exhibited broomstraw-type fracture features (unraveling of the individual fractured cable strands). The flap shaft cables from the motor to the flap actuators was also confirmed.

The top portion of the cabin area had been peeled back by rescue personnel to recover the three occupants. The landing gear and flaps were found retracted, which was also confirmed by measuring the extension of their respective actuators. The aileron trim tab was measured to be 0°(neutral), and the elevator trim was 2° tab up on the left and 5° tab up on the right. The right elevator was partially separated from the right horizontal stabilizer. The rudder trim was 4° tab right.

Impact damage precluded examination of the windshield anti-icing system and the inflatable pneumatic deice boots on the wings, horizontal stabilizers, and vertical stabilizer.

The windshield anti-ice switch was in the “off” position, and the propeller anti-ice, pitot heat, and ice detect light switches were impact damaged. The position of the surface deice switch could not be determined because it is a momentary switch (which has no “on” or “off” position but activates as a one-time cycle when pressed).

Both wings sustained impact damage, and both fuel bladder tanks were breached and empty of fuel.

The fuel selector valves and handles were found and verified to be in the “on” position, and continuity of the fuel system was confirmed to each engine.

The right and left engines and their respective two-blade propeller systems were each examined as an individual unit. Both engines’ crankshafts rotated freely via their respective propeller. When manually rotated, thumb compression and valvetrain continuity were ...