A commercial pilot was returning to land after dropping parachutists in the local area. While on short final, the airplane impacted a fence, nosed over, and came to rest in the inverted position. The operator stated that the airplane encountered a downdraft created by a hangar adjacent to the runway. The wind at the nearest observation facility, eight miles north of the site, was from 300 degrees at 6 knots.
Category: 1992
The pilot stated after the third parachute jumper exited the aircraft, he ‘…Continued at reduced power and started to glide down…For landing. As i was starting a long final approach i saw that i would need power to maintain the glide slope. There was no response when i advanced the throttle.’ attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful and the pilot made a forced landing.
After takeoff, the airplane was seen at low altitude trailing smoke from the left engine. Witnesses saw the wings ‘tipping’ back and forth, then a wing dropped and hit the ground. Examination revealed that a supercharger bearing had failed in the left engine. The left engine had been recently installed by non-certificated personnel after being inactive for 18 yrs without preservation.
During a vfr final approach, following a parachute jumping flight, to a private airstrip the engine lost all power. The pilot made a forced landing into a field. The owner/operator reported that the flaps remained in the up position at the accident site and that the pilot had stated the flaps remained in the up position during the approach and landing. The manufacturers’ procedures list full flaps for a shortfield landing. During the flare/touchdown the nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest in an inverted position. The cause of the power loss was not determined.
During takeoff roll while hauling parachute jumpers from a private airstrip, the aircraft failed to become airborne, departed the runway and collided with a ditch. The aircraft came to rest upright partially extending onto a country road which bordered the airstrip. Weight of the aircraft was computed to be 250.5 pounds over maximum certified gross weight.
The ground loader had fueled the airplane from the airport fuel truck. He stated that the flight crew did not sump the fuel tanks after they were fueled. Immediately after takeoff the right engine lost power, the right wing lowered to about 90 deg, and the airplane impacted the ground adjacent to the runway. Then forward fuel tank, which provides fuel to the right engine, was found to contain about 8 gals of a heavily contaminated mixture composed of water,
The beech e18s ground looped during the takeoff ground run. The pilot stated that before lift off the airplane encountered a ‘dust devil.’
The pilot had taken a newlywed couple up on a ceremonial ‘mile high’ local pleasure flight as a wedding gift. He reported that during a maneuver he felt a ‘shudder’, and elected to make a low pass over an airport taxiway, by some friends on the ground with a hand-held radio, for a ‘landing gear check’. During the second pass the pilot asked the couple to ‘look to the right where the moon shines over barnwell.’ the airplane collided with a spectator on the taxiway. A pax stated that the pilot then ‘freaked out’ and was in no condition to fly the airplane. During a subsequent landing attempt, a pax prevented a go-around by forcing the yoke forward and pushing on the brake pedals with his hands. The pax stated the pilot ‘wanted to keep flying and he was going nuts.’ the pilot fled the scene after the accident but returned later. The pilot had arranged to have the people on the ground ‘moon’ the airplane during the low pass.