N522MJBeech E-90

On May 17, 2023, about 1237 central daylight time, a Beech E-90 airplane, N522MJ, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Winslow, Arkansas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

Before the flight, the pilot contacted an avionics repair facility at Drake Field Airport (FYV), Fayetteville, Arkansas, to discuss autopilot issues that he was having with the airplane. He told the avionics technician that when engaged in heading hold mode the autopilot would roll the airplane into a steep left bank. The technician asked the pilot to perform ground checks of the autopilot system, but there were no discrepancies noted. He then asked the pilot to perform a maintenance flight in visual meteorological conditions to test the autopilot system. The pilot told the technician that during the test flight, the airplane still entered a left roll, and that he disengaged the autopilot once a 40° bank was reached. The technician advised the pilot that he would need to bring the airplane in for service and to not utilize the autopilot during the flight. The pilot planned to fly the airplane to FYV and leave it at the avionics facility for maintenance and return home via a commercial flight.

On the morning of the accident flight, the pilot called the avionics technician and told him that he may have to delay his departure due to inclement weather at the departure airport. The avionics technician stressed that he told the pilot that there was no urgency on their part and that the pilot should wait for good weather conditions to fly the airplane to FYV. The avionics technician said that the pilot had a function that he wanted to attend back home on the evening of the accident flight.

According to recorded ADS-B data, and air traffic control communications, the flight originated from University-Oxford Airport (UOX), Oxford, Mississippi, about 1127, and proceeded on a direct course toward FYV. The airplane climbed to 16,000 ft mean sea level (msl) and remained there until 1221 when a descent was initiated, which continued to 8,000 ft msl. About 1227, the pilot contacted Razorback Approach Control and reported being at 8,000 ft msl. The controller acknowledged and instructed the pilot to fly direct to WAYTUG for the localizer directional aid (LDA) runway 34 approach to FYV and to descend and maintain 5,000 ft msl. WAYTUG was the intermediate/initial approach fix (IF/IAF) for the LDA runway 34 approach to FYV and this approach had been in use at FYV. The airplane started descending but the pilot communicated that he could not locate WAYTUG on his approach chart.

After several communications, the controller determined that the pilot was reviewing the RNAV runway 34 approach to FYV. Once clarified, the controller instructed the pilot to cross VIXMU, the IF/IAF, at 4,500 ft msl, and cleared him for the RNAV runway 34 approach to FYV. The airplane then made a turn to the left. At this time, the airplane was about 6,100 ft msl. The airplane continued descending and flew toward VIXMU. The airplane then turned to the right before reaching VIXMU and then turned slightly to the left placing it on a 45° intercept for the approach segment between VIXMU and OPVIE, which was the final approach fix (FAF).

During this time, the airplane descended to about 3,525 ft msl. The controller advised the pilot that he had received a low altitude alert and instructed the pilot to check altitude. The pilot acknowledged and the airplane climbed back up to 3,950 ft msl. After the airplane climbed to 3,950 ft msl, it entered a right turn, presumably to intercept the inbound approach course, but the airplane continued in the right turn and subsequently entered a steep descent as depicted in figures 1 and 2. The final ADS-B data point, about 0.1 miles from the accident site, was at 1236:26 with a recorded altitude of 2,900 ft msl. The calculated descent rate between the final two data points was more than 15,000 feet per minute.

Figure 1. The final portion of the accident flight shown in red with the FYV RNAV 34 approach fixes and approach segments depicted in yellow.

Figure 2. A 3-dimensional view of the final portion of the accident flight. The accident location and the approach fix (VIMXU) are depicted.

The pilot’s flight logbook was not available during the investigation. The pilot reported having 4,836 hours total flight experience as of his most recent 3rd class medical examination on November 7, 2022. A pilot experience form for insurance purposes indicated the pilot had 4,802 total flight hours and 653 hours in multiengine airplanes as of November 9, 2021. Other documents obtained during the investigation indicated that the pilot received a proficiency evaluation in the airplane that was completed on May 20, 2021, and a proficiency evaluation for BE-300 airplanes on June 10, 2022.

The most recent weather report at FYV included an overcast ceiling at 1,800 ft above the ground (3,037 ft msl). Based on meteorological information gathered during the investigation, for the cruise portion of the flight at 16,000 ft msl the airplane was above the clouds. The data indicated that the airplane began encountering few clouds about 9,000 ft msl during its descent, and reached the overcast layer about 8,300 ft msl. Meteorological and ADS-B data indicated that the airplane would have remained in the clouds until the steep descending right turn at the end of the flight.

The airplane impacted wooded terrain, descending through an opening in the tree canopy. The damage to the surrounding trees, the impact signatures and the airplane damage was consistent with a near vertical descent and impact. Both engines and propellers were embedded in the terrain, and the entire airplane was fragmented. All major airframe and flight control surfaces were identified in the immediate vicinity of the impact location.

Subsequent examination of the airplane after its removal from the accident site was limited due to the extent of the damage; however, all major airframe components were identified as were portions of all flight control surfaces. All breaks in control system components displayed signatures consistent with overload failure due to impact. Engine and propeller examination revealed signatures consistent with power production at the time of impact.

The Arkansas State Medical Examiner performed the pilot’s autopsy. According to the autopsy report, the pilot’s cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of death accident.

The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory performed toxicology testing of postmortem tissue specimens from the pilot. Ethanol was detected in liver tissue at 0.028 g/hg and in muscle tissue at 0.035 g/hg. Tadalafil, salicylic acid, famotidine, atenolol, and irbesartan were detected in liver and muscle tissue.

Ethanol is a type of alcohol. It is the intoxicating alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, and, if consumed, can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. Alcohol consumption is not the only possible source of ethanol in postmortem specimens. Ethanol can sometimes be produced by microbes in a person’s body after death. Postmortem ethanol production is made more likely by extensive traumatic injury.

Tadalafil is a prescription medication commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, symptoms of an enlarged prostate, or to treat pulmonary hypertension. Occasional use of tadalafil for erectile dysfunction is acceptable for pilots if there are no side effects and a 24-hour waiting period is observed from the last dose before flying. Daily use of tadalafil for an enlarged prostate is also acceptable for pilots if there are no side effects with use, and a week waiting period has passed after initiation of therapy.

All the remaining detected medications were acceptable for use by pilots and none were impairing or would have adversely affected performance.