N44508 is a 2008 Express Aircraft EXPRESS 2000. It is a fixed-wing single-engine aircraft with 4 seats, powered by a P&W Canada PT6A-20 rated at 550 horsepower. The registration is active, with the registrant based in Cheyenne, WY. Its experimental airworthiness certificate was issued in May 2008. It has been registered to its current owner since Feb 2018. This page also carries 2 NTSB events.
- 18 years old
2018
2008
That's everything on file so far — TailWiki checks the FAA registry daily and adds new entries as N44508's record changes.
On May 30, 2022, about 0748 mountain daylight time, an Express 2000RG airplane, N44508, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Cheyenne, Wyoming. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Radio transmissions from the pilot were recorded by Cheyenne Air Traffic Control Tower and position information was determined through automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A performance study was conducted for the accident flight largely based on ADS-B data.
The airplane departed the Cheyenne Regional Airport/Jerry Olson Field (CYS) from runway 27, about 0744, and the pilot requested a turn to the south. At 0746:39, when the airplane was about 4 miles south of the airport, the pilot radioed to the air traffic control tower and reported an engine failure. About this time, the airplane turned left with a bank angle of about 75° and reversed course back toward the airport. During this turn, the airplane’s pitch reduced from 10° nose high to 10° nose low.
At 0746:53, the pilot stated he needed to determine if he could make it back to the airport. The airplane continued towards the airport and at 0747:47 the pilot informed the tower controller that he could not make the airport and he intended to land in a field. The pilot then radioed that the airplane was on fire and asked the controller to send fire-rescue. At 0748:02, the airplane turned right with a bank angle of about 75°, and the airplane’s pitch increased from 0° pitch to about 11° nose high. There were no other recorded transmission from the pilot.
Video cameras from a local business captured a portion of the accident sequence which showed the airplane in a near vertical descent with a right roll. The airplane impacted a paved road within a storage facility and a fire destroyed the airplane.
The pilot’s personal logbooks were not available for review. On the pilot’s most recent application for a FAA medical certificate, dated December 7, 2021, the pilot reported accruing 12,267 total hours with 309 hours in the preceding 6 months.
According to airplane registration information on file with the FAA, the pilot purchased the airplane on January 29, 2018. Using maintenance logbook entries, the pilot’s estimated time in the accident airplane was about 700 hours.
The airplane and engine were last inspected on February 16, 2022, which involved a condition inspection with combined 200- and 400-hour checklists.
The pilot was also a mechanic and had performed engine maintenance on March 4, 2021. However, another mechanic performed the most recent inspection according to logbook entries.
The airplane and engine were last inspected on February 16, 2022, which involved a condition inspection with combined 200- and 400-hour checklists.
The pilot was also a mechanic and had performed engine maintenance on March 4, 2021. However, another mechanic performed the most recent inspection according to logbook entries.
The airplane impacted a paved road within a storage facility. The initial impact point was a divot in the concrete. The wreckage path continued on a 084° heading about 15 ft into a storage locker. A postcrash fire consumed a majority of the airplane.
The airplane came to rest upright. Due to impact and fire damage, the flight controls were broken in several locations. Examination of the airframe was limited due to the impact and fire damage; however, there were no preimpact anomalies noted with the remaining wreckage that would have precluded normal operations.
Cockpit instrumentation was digital and largely thermally damaged. The airplane was equipped with a Dynon D10A Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), which was impacted separated from the cockpit and not identified in the wreckage. The power lever appeared to be in the flight idle position and the propeller condition lever was forward towards maximum power. The fuel condition lever was found near the low idle position and the fuel shutoff valve was found in the off position; however, this may have been moved by first responders.
The engine was separated from the wreckage and sent to Pratt & Whitney Canada’s facility in West Virginia. Under the auspices of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the engine was examined and no anomalies were detected during the examination. There was evidence of rotational scoring of the compressor and turbine components as well as a fracture of the propeller shaft with signatures consistent with torsional overload.
An autopsy was performed on the pilot by the Regional Medical Examiner, who found the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries.
Toxicology testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected the presence of rosuvaststin, which is a prescription cholesterol medication that the pilot reported on his medical certificate application to the FAA. FIREA review photo documentation by the NTSB Fire & Explosion Specialist could not determine the area of the reported in-flight fire. Due to the intense post impact fire, any signature of inflight fire was likely masked.
On May 29, 2015, about 1542 mountain standard time, a Burr Express 2000 RG, N44508, experienced a landing gear collapse during the landing roll at Glendale Municipal Airport (GEU) in Glendale, Arizona. The private pilot and one passenger were uninjured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and elevators. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from GEU at about 1500.
The pilot reported that he landed the airplane onto the runway normally. He applied beta thrust to decelerate the airplane and started to brake lightly. Suddenly, the left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane swerved to the left. The airplane departed the runway surface and the left wing impacted a runway sign. It traversed along the dirt when the right landing gear collapsed and the tail impacted the ground before sliding to a rest.
During a postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector it was revealed that the left main landing gear actuator heim rod failed where the threads meet the rod end. Given the location of the heim rod, the inspector was unable to view the fracture surface while the component was installed on the airplane. In addition, the inspector noted that the hydraulic line to the gear actuator was ripped.
The National Transportation Safety Board Investigator-in-charge attempted to obtain the heim rod for further examination, however, the pilot had already repaired the airplane and the part was no longer available.
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