Beechcraft 95 N8212D

Summary

On 1 January 2003 at about 19:12 local time, a Beechcraft 95 registered N8212D was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, United States. 4 people were on board and one died, 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 January 2003 at 19:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Ryan (RYN)

Coordinates

32.1494, -110.9310

Aircraft

Beechcraft 95

Registration

N8212D

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03FA057

1 person died.

a loss power in the right engine due to an excessively rich mixture that was the result of the pilot's failure to secure the priming control prior to takeoff. Also causal was the pilot's failure to follow the single engine procedures specified in the operating manual for this aircraft, and, his failure to attain and maintain the correct airspeeds for single engine operation, and to maintain directional control. A factor was the pilot's lack of total experience in multiengine aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane veered and rolled to the right after liftoff, and then went nose first into the ground. As the airplane took off, witnesses on the airport heard an engine "pop", which sounded to them like a backfire. The right wing dropped and then the airplane's nose went down and into the ground. Controllers in the Air Traffic Control Tower observed the airplane liftoff and begin a turn to the right at midfield, though they thought that the altitude, which they estimated at 60 to 80 feet, was very low. The airplane also appeared to be going slow as the airplane kept turning to the right and the nose pitched continuously up. The controllers then saw the right wing drop followed by the nose as the airplane went straight down. The landing gear was in the down and locked position, and the flaps were in the up position. The rudder trim was in the neutral position. Examination of the left engine and propeller found signatures consistent with engine rotation, and the left propeller was not feathered. Internal evidence in the right propeller revealed that it was operating at a high blade angle consistent with operation at low speed. The right engine spark plugs for cylinders 1, 2, and 4 were sooty and black, while the plugs in cylinder 3 were gray. The starting primer system is plumbed to cylinders 1, 2, and 4; the cockpit control for the right engine primer system was unlocked and extended about 1/4-inch. The pilot obtained his multiengine rating 3 weeks prior to the accident. and had a total of 20 hours in multiengine airplanes, which were all in this make and model. The owner's manual noted that liftoff airspeed was 85 while the safe single engine speed was 100 miles per hour (mph) indicated airspeed (IAS), which is still below best single engine rate of climb airspeed. The manual specified that at 100 mph or greater, the pilot could follow normal single engine procedures. Below this airspeed, the pilot had to attain it either through altitude loss or by making a landing. The manual instructed the pilot to land straight ahead and stop with loss of power in one engine below 90 mph at 100 feet, or below 100 mph at 50 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.