Preliminary Report: GIII Damaged in Runway Excursion
Gulfstream III, London, England, Nov. 24, 2014–The Gulfstream was damaged in a runway excursion accident during takeoff from London Biggin Hill Airport’s Runway 03. The nose gear collapsed as the Gulfstream came to rest in the grass perpendicular to the runway. None of the eight people aboard the aircraft was injured. The reason for the excursion had not been determined at press time.
Preliminary Report: King Air Damaged in Landing Accident
Beechcraft Super King Air 350, Samara-Kurumoch, Russia, Nov. 25, 2014–Neither of the two people on board the aircraft was injured when the turboprop landed with all three landing gear still retracted. The aircraft was substantially damaged. Weather at the time of the accident was not reported.
Preliminary Report: Runway Excursion Damages Phenom Near Houston
Embraer Phenom 100, Sugarland, Texas, Nov. 21, 2014–The jet was substantially damaged during a runway excursion that took the aircraft off the surface of Sugarland’s Runway 35, down an embankment and into a ditch, where the fuselage was partially submerged in water. The Part 91 aircraft, operated by Superior Air Charter, had just completed an instrument arrival after a short repositioning flight from nearby Houston Hobby Airport.
The first officer did not recall seeing any standing water on the runway as the tower cleared the flight to land, although that pilot did notice a 15-knot tailwind that dropped to nine knots at touchdown. The captain, the pilot flying, said she initially applied the brakes but found them unresponsive. She then pulled the emergency brakes but the aircraft continued off the end of the runway.
Preliminary Report: Caravan Damaged in Forced Landing
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, west of Yellowknife, Canada, Nov. 20, 2014–The pilot of the Air Tindi turboprop single was flying a scheduled passenger trip from Yellowknife to Fort Simpson when he encountered severe icing and decided to return to Yellowknife. The severe icing conditions continued and the pilot sent a Mayday call before putting the aircraft down on the frozen surface of Great Slave Lake approximately 25 miles west of Yellowknife. None of the six people on board was injured; the left main landing gear and the left wing of the aircraft suffered damage.
Preliminary Report: Old Turboprop Destroyed in South Sudan
British Aerospace BAe-748, Panyagor Airstrip, South Sudan, Nov. 14, 2014–The large turboprop twin crashed just short of the airstrip located southeast of the Ez Zeraf game reserve. Two of the three crewmembers on board were killed and the aircraft was destroyed. The cause of the accident had not been determined at press time. The aircraft was operated by Global Airlift on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation.
Preliminary Report: Learjet Hits Crane in Bahamas
Bombardier Learjet 35A, near Freeport, Bahamas, Nov. 9, 2014–During an instrument approach to Runway 06 at Grand Bahamas International Airport, the aircraft clipped a crane and struck the ground. All nine people aboard the airplane died and the aircraft was destroyed.
The aircraft, registered to Diplomat Aviation (Bahamas), was operating as a charter flight for Bahamas Faith Ministries International. In its report, theAir Accident Investigation & Prevention Unit (AAIPU) of the Bahamas said the airplane had departed Nassau-Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) on an IFR flight plan for the 24-minute flight to Freeport. The crew received the current weather and was cleared for the ILS Z 06 approach. The charts depict two cranes extending to 368 and 369 feet agl just past the outer marker inbound at 4 DME.
The crew missed the first approach in heavy rain and reduced visibility. The aircraft then proceeded to and entered a published hold at 2,000 feet. Once ATC reported an improvement in the weather, the crew flew a second ILS Z 06 approach. Rain began again during the second approach and during the crew’s second attempt to find the runway visually, the aircraft descended and struck two support beams on a shipyard crane at approximately 115 feet agl. The impact tore through the outboard portion of the right wing and fuel tank, and the aircraft crashed inverted into a garbage and metal recycling plant adjacent to the shipyard.
Preliminary Report: Bell 407 Ditches in the Gulf of Mexico
Bell 407, offshore oil rig VR 189, Nov. 11, 2014–The turbine single lost power at about 1:55 p.m. local time in VFR conditions and ditched in the Gulf of Mexico. None of the four people aboard was injured. At the time of the accident, the nearest weather station reported southerly wind at seven knots with visibility of seven miles beneath a scattered deck of clouds at 4,200 feet. The Part 135 helicopter was registered to and operated by Rotorcraft Leasing as a passenger flight.
Final Report: King Air Lost Aileron in Flight
Beechcraft King Air E90, Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 15, 2011–The King Air had undergone maintenance in Des Moines, including an inspection of the ailerons that required removal, reinstallation and a functional check of those control surfaces. The airplane was registered to and operated by D-W Corp., Des Moines, Iowa. Before the Part 91 test flight, the pilot performed a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft, including a check that the flight controls were free and correct, with no anomalies noted.
The aircraft took off in VMC from Runway 13L at Des Moines International (DSM) at approximately 9 a.m. and the ATP-certified pilot departed the terminal area on a heading of 160 degrees. Shortly thereafter, the pilot made another right turn to the west and was cleared to FL180. While level at FL180 and with the autopilot engaged, the pilot and maintenance crewmember aboard performed various checks on the engines and flight instruments. After completing the checks, the pilot requested a left 180-degree turn back to DSM. ATC approved the turn and the pilot selected the autopilot heading mode for the left turn. As the aircraft neared completion of the turn, the autopilot jerked the aircraft, then stabilized and then jerked again during the level-off. The pilot looked outside and noticed the right aileron had vanished. The airplane landed at DSM without further incident and neither the pilot nor the mechanic was injured.
Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the inboard and middle airframe aileron hinge brackets attached to the aft spar, which was intact with no visible damage. The outboard airframe aileron hinge bracket, however, had separated from the aft spar. The aileron was never located. Based on the condition of the hinge brackets, investigators concluded the aileron bolts were not properly engaged in the aileron nut plates. This caused the bolts to fall out, releasing the aileron.
The NTSB determined the probable cause to be the improper installation of the right aileron by maintenance personnel.
Final Report: Pilot Lost Control of PC-12
Pilatus PC-12, Lake Wales, Fla., June 7, 2012–The NTSB determined the probable cause of the in-flight breakup of the PC-12 to be the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane in instrument conditions following disconnection of the autopilot. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of experience in high-performance turboprops and in instrument conditions. The pilot and his five passengers were killed.
The pilot of the accident aircraft held a private pilot certificate with an instrument rating. The NTSB’s examination of the pilot’s logbook showed 800 hours total flight time at the time of the accident. The pilot had attended initial Pilatus training between May 7 and May 16, 2012 and received his instrument proficiency check, flight review and high-altitude endorsements. Following the training, he logged approximately 14 hours as PIC of the accident airplane as well as five ILS approaches. Before purchasing the PC-12 about five weeks earlier, the pilot had logged zero time as PIC in a turboprop and had not logged any actual instrument flight time in more than seven years. Additionally, he had last logged simulated instrument time four years and seven months earlier.
The airplane, registered to and operated under Part 91 by Roadside Ventures, departed St. Lucie County International Airport (FPR), Fort Pierce, at 12:05 p.m. on an IFR flight plan. Data recordings showed the pilot engaged the autopilot shortly after takeoff while climbing west-northwesterly to FL260. Light to moderate icing conditions were forecast for the area, but were considered well within the airplane’s capability. The pilot of a nearby airplane reported encountering light rime ice at the top of the cloud layer. At 26 minutes 35 seconds after takeoff, the airplane’s central advisory and warning system (CAWS) recorded activation of the PC-12’s pusher ice mode at FL247, consistent with activation of the propeller de-ice and inertial separator. However, the de-ice boots were not activated.
A minute later, ATC cleared the flight to deviate right of course for adverse weather ahead. The airplane, on autopilot and in IMC, began a right bank of less than 25 degrees while flying at 109 kias when the autopilot disconnected for undetermined reasons. The pilot allowed the bank to increase. Thirteen seconds after autopilot disconnection, with the airplane descending in a right 50-degree bank, the pilot began testing the autopilot system.
Recovered data indicates the pilot had allowed the bank angle to increase to at least 75 degrees while descending and also allowed the aircraft to reach an airspeed of 338 knots, approximately 175 knots above maximum maneuvering speed. The NTSB determined that during the right descending turn, while at 15,511 feet, the pilot likely applied either abrupt or full aft elevator control, resulting in overstress fracture of both wings. The separated section of right wing struck and breached the fuselage, causing one passenger to be ejected from the airplane. The aircraft crashed into an open field.
Examination revealed no evidence of pre-existing cracks in any of the fractured surfaces, and the primary flight controls and engine revealed no evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction. The flaps were found in the retracted position but the landing gear was extended.
For undetermined reasons, the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator was found positioned in the green arc takeoff range, while the impact-damaged aileron trim actuator was in the left-wing-nearly-full-down position. The rudder trim actuator was full nose right. No pre-impact failures were identified.
Impact damage to the autopilot flight computer precluded functional testing. The trim adapter passed all acceptance tests with the exception of the aural alert output, which would not have affected its proper operation. The CAWS log entries indicated no airframe or engine systems warnings or cautions before the airplane departed from controlled flight. A radar performance study indicated that the airplane did not enter an aerodynamic stall, and the CAWS log entries showed no evidence that the stick pusher had activated before the departure from controlled flight.
The NTSB pointed to the fact that the pilot did not maintain control of the airplane after the autopilot disengaged as evidence of his lack of experience in the PC-12. The Board concluded that the pilot should have been able to control the airplane after the autopilot disengaged in weather conditions that included only light rime ice. Further, his lack of experience was evident in his testing of the autopilot system immediately following the airplane’s departure from controlled flight rather than rolling the airplane to a wings-level position and regaining altitude, said the Board.