Lancaster

After departing on an IFR flight in VFR conditions, the flight had been cleared to climb from 3,000 to 4,000 feet, when the right engine lost power. The pilots diverted toward an uncontrolled airport, secured the right engine, & cancelled their IFR clearance. They made an approach to land on runway 15, then attempted a single engine go-around. During the go-around, the airplane yawed/rolled to the right in what the passenger believed was a VMC roll. It then struck power lines & crashed in a right wing low attitude. Investigation revealed that both pilots held multi-engine ratings. The owner said the pilot (PIC) had flown the airplane for a short time on 12/21/98; however, no other record was found to verify that either the pilot or copilot had flight experience in this make/model of airplane. Examination of the wreckage revealed evidence that the flaps were retracted, the landing gear was in transit, the left propeller was operating with power, & the right propeller was feathered. The airplane had a history of fuel flow fluctuations in the right engine. The diaphragm (P/N 364446) in the right engine distributor valve assembly was found ruptured. It was an old style diaphragm, which was colored black. Bendix Service Bulletin RS-76, issued 11/15/80, called for replacement of the black diaphragm with a red fluorosilicone diaphragm (P/N 245088) at overhaul. The engine was overhauled in June 1992. During maintenance in December 1997, both fuel system injectors & nozzles were tested; however, the distributor valve assembles were not tested. Calculations showed the airplane was loaded 116.3 lbs over the maximum allowable gross weight & 1.3 inches forward of the allowable CG range.

ATC data indicated the airplane was in cruise flight at about 17,000 feet MSL, when the pilot deviated from the intended flight path to avoid thunderstorms. At 2150 EDT, the pilot requested clearance to climb to 19,000 MSL. At 2152, he requested a right turn out of weather and advised ATC that he was 'getting icing.' Between 2153 and 2154, the pilot's transmissions were garbled, then at 2154:38, he stated '...trying to get out of this mess.' Radar and radio contact with the airplane were lost. An in-flight breakup of the airplane occurred, and wreckage was found scattered over a 3 mile area. Postaccident examination revealed the outboard portion of the right wing had failed and separated in an upward and aft direction. Scrape marks were found on the right side of the fuselage, and there was damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and rudder. Also, there was evidence that both engines had separated in flight; they were found about 1 mile from the main wreckage. No preexisting mechanical malfunction or fatigue of the airplane was found. The pilot had received a complete weather briefing, and was advised of severe weather along the intended route of flight.

Just prior to the accident the airplane was seen on final approach flying in an erratic manner at a low altitude. Two witnesses riding in a car wrote they saw the airplane, 'going up and down toward the ground. We could hear a faint clicking noise, and the propellers were going around slowly.' The witnesses saw the airplane take 'a short nosedive and crashed.' They wrote that the airplane was not traveling 'very fast and it was pretty level to the ground.' The witnesses could not hear the engines because they were in a car. According to fuel records, the pilot of N1576T put 112 gallons of fuel on board the airplane on march 17, 1994, and the flight started at 1030 on march 19, 1994. The accident occurred at 1355, for a total flight time of 3 hours and 25 minutes. Using fuel consumption data for this aircraft it was estimated that fuel exhaustion would occur after 3 hours and 4 minutes of flight. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The airplane departed Albany on an air pollution monitoring program flight to Lancaster, carrying two passengers and one pilot. En route, while cruising in marginal weather conditions, the pilot encountered severe turbulences when control was lost. The airplane crashed in Rexville, killing all three occupants.