N770DLBeech C24R · 1979

On August 26, 2009, about 1400 eastern daylight time, Beech C24R, N770DL, was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain near Jackson County Airport (24A), Sylva, North Carolina. The certificated private pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed from Creve Coeur Airport (1H0), St. Louis, Missouri, about 1020. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to flight service station records, the pilot requested an abbreviated weather briefing and filed an IFR flight plan about 0945. He advised the briefer that the flight would be conducted at 9,000 feet, would be 3 hours in duration, and that the airplane had 5.5 hours of fuel onboard.

A driver was scheduled to pick up the accident pilot and the passenger at 24A around 1300. As the driver waited for them to arrive, he heard the accident pilot announce his arrival over the airport common traffic advisory frequency. The driver then observed as the airplane made an approach directly down runway 33, but did not land. The airplane then went around and approached the runway a second time. He watched the airplane touch down on the runway, and then disappear from his view. He expected to see the airplane return toward the ramp area, but it did not. A short time later, the driver was advised by local authorities that the airplane had crashed.

A police officer who was waiting at the airport for another aircraft to arrive, observed the accident airplane make a low approach to the runway from the south, followed by a second approach. He lost sight of the airplane after the second approach, and was advised shortly thereafter that an airplane had crashed beyond the departure end of the runway.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land an instrument airplane. The pilot's most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on January 10, 2008 with the limitation, "must wear corrective lenses." Review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he possessed 1,382 total hours of flight experience, a majority of which was in the accident airplane. There were no entries in the logbook that noted any previous flights to Jackson County Airport.

Review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that the most recent annual inspection was completed on August 20, 2008, at a total airframe time of 2,300 flight hours. On July 20, 2009, an overhauled landing gear motor and power pack were installed at 2,480 total flight hours. Review of a hand-written notebook found in the wreckage revealed that the airplane had accumulated 2,503 total flight hours as of August 24, 2009.

The 1400 weather observation at Macon County Airport (1A5), located about 12 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, included winds from 200 degrees true at 3 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, scattered clouds at 9,000 feet, temperature 28 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 17 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.18 inches of mercury.

Jackson County Airport was located 3 nautical miles southeast of Sylva, North Carolina, and at an elevation of 2,857 feet. The single 3,003-foot-long by 50-foot-wide runway was oriented in a 15/33 configuration. A 300-foot drop-off was located about 300 feet beyond the runway 33 departure end.

The wreckage was examined at the scene by a representative of the airframe manufacturer on August 27, 2009. The airplane impacted a wooded area beyond the departure end of runway 33. The slope of the terrain at the accident site was about 30 degrees downward, and the wreckage came to rest inverted and in a nose down attitude , and was partially suspended by a tree supporting the stabilator. The surrounding vegetation exhibited signatures of defoliation, including the canopy directly above and east of the accident site.

The wreckage was recovered from the scene and examined at an aircraft recovery facility on September 10, 2009. The contents of the airplane (including luggage and other personal effects) were collected and weighed on a scale, and totaled 200 pounds.

Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit controls to the rudder, ailerons, and stabilator. The right wing exhibited leading edge impact signatures and a semi-circular 3-foot by 2-foot impact crush about 4 feet from the wing root. The main wing spar was separated at the wing root. The right main landing gear was separated, and the landing gear actuator was in the "extended" position. The right fuel tank was breached. The left wing was separated from the fuselage to facilitate recovery. The left main landing gear was pushed back into the well by the recovery crew. The left fuel tank was ruptured, and the recovery crew stated that approximately 1 gallon of fuel leaked out during recovery. The left aileron was separated from the wing. Measurement of the flap actuator jackscrew correlated to the "flaps retracted" position.

The vertical stabilizer had a slight bend to the right and its skin was wrinkled on the right side. There was slight buckling of the rudder. The left stabilator remained attached and exhibited minor impact damage and skin buckling. The right stabilator was separated at the root by the recovery crew and showed similar signatures to the left; however, the surface was bowed and the right trim tab exhibited more impact damage than the left. Measurement of the stabilator trim tab actuator correlated to the 8-degree tab trailing edge down position.

The cockpit was compromised, and the instrument panel and engine controls were broken away from the firewall. The fuel selector was set to the "LEFT MAIN" tank. The fuel strainer was removed and examination revealed trace amount of fuel and an absence of debris.

The engine was separated from the airframe by the recovery crew before the airplane was recovered from the scene. The engine accessories were removed to facilitate rotation of the engine crankshaft. One magneto was missing and not recovered. The crankshaft rotated freely without binding, and valvetrain and powertrain continuity were confirmed. Compression was observed on all four cylinders using the "thumb" method. Borescope inspection of the cylinders revealed nominal color and wear.

The canister-type oil filter was opened and the element inspected, with no metallic particulates observed. The recovered magneto was turned by hand and spark was observed on all four terminal leads. The fuel flow divider was opened and the diaphragm smelled of fuel, but no visible fuel was present. The fuel injector nozzles were removed and no blockages were observed. The fuel injector servo was broken away from its mount, and internal inspection revealed no anomalies and a fuel smell was present on the rubber diaphragm.

Examination of the propeller revealed that two blades remained attached to the hub (labeled 1 and 2) a third blade (3) was broken out of the hub. Blade 1 exhibited mild s-bending along its length and was bent aft approximately 30 degrees. Some blade twisting and light surface scratching were observed. Blade 2 exhibited more pronounced s-bending and showed significant twisting. The leading edge had a pronounced gouge at the tip. There was surface scoring and paint removal on the surface at the leading edge. Blade 3 was bent forward approximately 20 degrees and the tip had a slight aft curl. There was light scoring on the blade surface.

The Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, performed autopsy postmortem examinations on the pilot and the pilot-rated passenger.

The FAA’s Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological testing on the pilot and the pilot-rated passenger. Fluid and tissue specimens from the pilot tested negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, and drugs. Fluid and tissue specimens from the pilot-rated passenger tested negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol; though the drugs Cetirizine and Metoclopramide were detected.

Non-Volatile Memory

A hand-held Garmin 295 global positioning system (GPS) unit was recovered from the accident scene and forwarded to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for download. Examination of the non-volatile memory data from the unit revealed that it contained track information that correlated to the accident flight. The recorded track began about 1148 while the airplane was cruising at 9,342 feet (GPS altitude). The airplane continued to cruise about 9,400 feet until about 1340, and about 13 nautical miles from the airport, the airplane began a descent. About 1345, and about 1.5 miles north of the airport, the airplane entered a left 360-degree turn and descended from about 6,700 feet to 4,700 feet. The airplane then descended, while flying a path consistent with a right downwind traffic pattern for runway 33. Upon reaching 3,100 feet (243 feet above the airport elevation) the airplane leveled, and flew the length of the runway at a GPS groundspeed of 74 knots.

The airplane subsequently climbed and flew a path consistent with a left traffic pattern, again for runway 33, at an altitude of 3,200 feet, and a groundspeed of 87 knots. During the final minute of flight, the airplane descended and slowed from 3,150 feet and 91 knots to 2,950 feet and 60 knots about 8 seconds before the final positions of the flight were recorded. The final position was recorded beyond the departure end of the runway at an altitude of 2,973 feet, in the vicinity of the accident site. The average recorded groundspeed for the final segment of the flight was 63 knots GPS groundspeed.

Stall Speed Calculations

According to the airframe manufacturer, given the airplane's calculated loading and a landing gear extended, flaps retracted configuration, the calculated power-off, wings level stall speed was 61 knots calibrated airspeed.