CEN18FA108

An inflight loss of control and collision with terrain for reasons that could not be determined.

The instrument-rated private pilot and one passenger departed on a personal flight in the pilot's multi-engine airplane in night visual meteorological conditions. A witness saw the lights of the accident airplane about 2 minutes after it departed. Within several seconds, the lights "fell quickly like a shooting star," followed by an orange flash of fire as the airplane impacted terrain. There was no radar or radio communications information associated with the airplane. The wreckage was severely fragmented, and the evidence at the accident site was consistent with a high-energy impact in a left-wing-low, nose-down attitude. Examination revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical deficiencies with the airplane or engines. Autopsy and toxicology testing of the pilot revealed no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation.

The Grant County Coroner, Liberal, Kansas, performed an autopsy of the pilot. The cause of death was blunt injuries, and the manner of death was airplane crash. In addition, the pathologist noted mild atherosclerosis of the aorta. No other significant natural disease was identified. The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory performed toxicology testing on samples taken from the pilot during the autopsy. Testing detected a small amount of ethanol in heart but not muscle, consistent with post-mortem production. No medications or illicit drugs that could pose hazards to flight safety were detected. The 2108 recorded observation at ULS included wind from 150º at 12 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, temperature -3ºC, dew point -4ºC, and altimeter 30.01 inches of mercury. The moonrise and moonset calculator indicated that, at 2106, the position of the moon in Hutchinson, Kansas, was at an altitude of 47º and a heading of 249º. The moon illumination at the time of the meridian passing, about 1816 was 46.4%. Hutchinson, Kansas in located about 190 miles east of Ulysses, Kansas, and is the closes location of moonrise and moonset observation. The pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot certificate with airplane single-and multi-engine land and instrument airplane ratings. The pilot's most recent third-class FAA medical certificate was issued on October 16, 2017, with a limitation for corrective lenses.On the application for that medical certificate, the pilot reported 3,589 total hours of flight experience and 42 hours in the previous six months. The pilot's logbook was not recovered. The airplane impacted the ground in a left-wing-low, nose-down attitude and was severely fragmented. A postimpact fire consumed several portions of the airframe. The main wreckage came to rest on a heading of 230° at an elevation of 3,060 ft mean sea level; the engines were separated from the airframe. The wreckage path was about 570 ft long and was oriented on a heading of about 235°. Figure 1: Wreckage Diagram All flight control surfaces and major components of the airplane were present at the site; however, flight control continuity could not be confirmed due to the extent of impact damage. The elevator, elevator trim, rudder, and rudder trim cables remained attached to their respective flight control surfaces. The cables were traced continuously from the tail section to the forward section of the floorboard. The left and right elevator trim actuators were found in a 15º tab down (nose-up) position. The rudder trim was found at a 0º (neutral) position. The right wing flap actuator remained mounted on the flap and measured 2 inches, which correlated to a flap setting between 0º and 5º. The left flap actuator was not attached to the left wing flap; however, it remained attached to the actuator cable. The actuator measurement corresponded to a flap setting of 0º. The outboard fuel caps in the right and left wings remained installed. The right main landing gear remained attached to the gear strut. Based on the position of the landing gear actuator, the gear was in the retracted position at the time of impact. Compressed air was blown into both fuel selector valves to determine selector position. Both fuel selectors were found in the ON position. One fuel strainer screen was observed in the wreckage field; it was free of debris. The autopilot cockpit control panel was tested by turning the selector shaft into each position. The selector was in the center position, which correlated to "heading." Numerous instruments were found in the wreckage path; however, the instruments suffered impact damage and did not provide usable information. The left and right propeller hubs were fractured into multiple pieces and all blades were separated. All six blades exhibited varying degrees of S-bending, polishing, chordwise scratching, and/or leading-edge gouging, consistent with the engines producing power at the time of impact. The right engine separated from the engine nacelle and came to rest inverted about 300 ft north of the initial ground scar. Several components separated from the engine, including the engine oil sump and pick-up tube, engine exhaust components, induction components, fuel pump, fuel control unit, vacuum pump, spin-on type oil filter, engine starter motor, left and right magnetos, and engine driven front-mounted alternator. The forward section of the crankcase was impact damaged with crankcase material missing exposing internal components. All six cylinders remained attached to their respective mounts, with cylinder Nos. 4, 5, and 6 exhibiting impact damage. The ignition harness was impact damaged. The left engine separated from the engine nacelle and was located upright about 150 ft south of the initial ground scar. Several components separated from the engine, including the exhaust components, induction components, left and right magnetos, fuel manifold, engine-driven fuel pump, fuel control unit, vacuum pump, spin-on type oil filter, engine starter motor, and engine-driven front-mounted alternator. All six cylinders remained attached to their respective mounts, with cylinder No. 6 exhibiting impact damage. The starter adapter remained attached but was impact damaged. The airplane was recovered from the site and transported to a recovery facility for further examination. No pre-impact damage was noted to the right and left engine-driven fuel pumps, the right and left engine fuel manifold, right and left engine oil pumps and pressure relief valves, and the right and left vacuum pumps. The oil filters for both engines were opened, and the paper filter media appeared clean. The left engine magnetos were manually rotated and produced spark at the ignition leads. The right magneto for the right engine was manually rotated and produced a spark at the ignition leads. The left magneto for the right engine did not produce spark when manually rotated. The magneto was disassembled; the points were observed closed and did not open when the magneto was rotated. The points were adjusted, and the magneto produced a spark at the ignition leads when rotated. The fuel injectors for the left engine were open with no contamination noted. The fuel injectors for cylinder Nos. 1 and 2 were separated; the remaining fuel injectors were clear of contamination. When compared to a Champion Sparkplug "Check-a-Plug" chart, all sparkplugs appeared to be "normal" in wear and coloration except the sparkplug from cylinder No. 6 on the right engine, which was impact damaged. Continuity of the left engine was confirmed by suction and compression in each cylinder except for cylinder No. 6, which was heavily impact damaged. The right engine could not be rotated due to impact damage. A lighted electronic borescope examination was performed; all piston domes and intake and exhaust valves remained intact and exhibited normal combustion signatures; cylinder No. 6 was impact damaged and the valves were released. The crankcase was opened, and all internal components exhibited no anomalies. Examination of the airframe and engines did not reveal evidence of any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane's airworthiness certificate was issued on June 23, 1970. The low-wing, retractable tricycle landing gear, twin-engine airplane was powered by two Continental IO-550-C, 300-horsepower engines, each driving a McCauley propeller three-bladed, constant-speed, full-feathering propeller. Maintenance records indicated that the most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on May 17, 2017, at a recorded tachometer time of 6,369.2 hours (recording hour meter 5,619.2 hours), a recorded right engine total time of 1,680.2 hours, left engine total time of 3,235.6 hours, and 711.2 hours since both engines received their last major overhaul. The last maintenance entry was dated January 13, 2018, at a recordin