NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On February 23, 2011, at 2002 eastern standard time, a Cessna 421C, N3875C, collided with the terrain following a loss of control approximately 1.5 miles east of the Mettel Airport (CEV), Connersville, Indiana. The private pilot, the sole occupant, received fatal injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was being operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from the Metropolitan Airport (UMP), Indianapolis, Indiana, about 1940.

A witness, who had some flight training, reported hearing the airplane and seeing the airplane’s navigation lights prior to the accident. This witness was in a parked vehicle on the west side of the airport and toward the south end of the runway. The witness stated it was very dark outside and the weather was clear with a southeasterly wind at 15 to 20 knots. The witness added the airplane flew from west to east over his vehicle at an altitude of 150 to 200 feet above the ground. He stated that everything seemed and sounded normal, except that the airplane was “way too low. He reported the airplane made a left turn as if turning onto a downwind leg for runway 18. The airplane did not roll out of the bank, but rather continued in the descending left-bank until upside down. The airplane then disappeared behind the tree line.

A review of radar data revealed that an aircraft with a transponder code of 1200 was located just south of UMP at 1940. This radar target was at an altitude of 1,100 feet. The radar target continued on a southeasterly ground track toward CEV, climbing to a maximum altitude of 3,400 feet prior to beginning a descent. The last primary radar contact was at 2,000 feet about 5 miles east of CEV at 1954.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 47, held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land, multi-engine land, instrument, and helicopter ratings. He held a second-class airman medical certificate dated September 16, 2010. The medical certificate did not contain any limitations.

The pilot’s last logbook, which was made available during the investigation, was marked as logbook number 3. This logbook contained entries from April 8, 2008, through December 14, 2010. Based on this logbook it is estimated the pilot had a total flight time of about 1,360 hours which included about 860 hours in multi-engine airplanes. The pilot completed an updated insurance policy application on December 20, 2010. On this paperwork, the pilot reported having 558 hours of flight time in the Cessna 421C. The last flight logged in a Cessna 421C was dated December 14, 2010.

According to the pilot’s logbook, since May 2010, the majority of his flight time was in helicopters. The pilot was issued his helicopter rating on July 30, 2010.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The low-wing, pressurized, retractable-gear airplane, serial number 421C0127, was manufactured in 1976. The airplane was powered by two Continental GTSIO-520 engines.

According to the airframe logbook, the last annual inspection on the airplane was conducted on December 8, 2009, at a total aircraft time of 4,126.6 hours. Based on the aircraft and pilot logbooks, the airplane had a total time of approximately 4,158 hours at the time of the accident.

According to the engine logbook, the left engine, a Continental GTSIO-520-L-(3), s/n 292373-R, was rebuilt and installed on the airplane on February 18, 1999. The engine received a 100 hour inspection on December 8, 2009, and the time since rebuild was listed as 1,380.9 hours.

The right engine, a Continental GTSIO-520-NcL, s/n 265040-R, was overhauled by Ram Aircraft on October 7, 2002, at an engine total time of 2,873.3 hours. The engine received a 100 hour inspection on December 8, 2009, at a time since major overhaul of 555.5 hours, total time of 3,428.8 hours.

The last known fueling of the airplane was on December 14, 2010. Records show that on that day about 40 gallons of fuel was added to the airplane at UMP and an additional 100 gallons were added at CEV.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The recorded surface observation weather data from the Shelbyville Municipal Airport (KGEZ), Shelbyville, Indiana, located about 37 miles west south-west of the accident site, revealed the conditions at 1953 were wind from 130 degrees at 8 knots; visibility 10 miles; ceiling 5,000 feet broken; temperature 4 degrees Celsius; dewpoint minus 1 degree Celsius; and altimeter setting 30.02 inches of mercury.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The airplane impacted in an open field about 1.5 miles east of the south end of the runway at CEV. The field was approximately 760 yards long by 240 yards wide, and was surrounded by trees up to 100 feet tall. The airplane impacted the terrain in a near vertical, nose-down attitude and came to rest on a heading of about 215 degrees. All of the wreckage was located within the vicinity of the main wreckage. Both engines were buried about 4 feet into the terrain. A narrow impact mark indicative of the leading edge of the wing was visible extending outboard from the location of the engines.

The cabin floor was crushed back to the wing spar area. The cockpit and cabin sustained substantial impact damage which opened the structure back to the empennage. The main landing gears were in the extended position. The nose gear was separated from the airplane. The leading edge of the vertical stabilizer was crushed rearward. The rudder, both horizontal stabilizers and elevators sustained little impact damage compared to the rest of the airplane and they remained attached in their respective positions. The elevator trim tab remained attached.

Both wings sustained extensive impact damage. The right wing was separated from the fuselage and the left wing remained partially attached. The left aileron and both flaps remained attached to their respective wings. The right aileron was separated from the wing and located alongside the main wreckage. Fuel was observed dripping from a fuel line to the left wing during the aircraft recovery process. First responders reported a strong smell of fuel in the area when they arrived at the accident site.

The control continuity for the elevators and rudder was established from the control surfaces to the cabin area under the front seats. The aileron control continuity was established from the bellcranks to each wing root and from the aileron sector forward to the cabin area under the front seats. Continuity could not be established forward of the front seats due to the amount of impact damage. The flap chains were separated; however, based on the point of separation it is estimated that the flaps were extended to 15 degrees.

Many of the cockpit instruments were damaged beyond readability. The left attitude indicator along with the left and right side heading indicators were located and disassembled. Scoring was observed on the rotors and rotor housings. The face and glass of the airspeed indicator was intact. There were two areas of missing paint on the indicator’s face plate that aligned with the 215 knot mark. The glass of the tachometer was broken and the face plate was bent with both needles positioned at 1,800 rpm.

Both engines were washed down with water to remove the mud after they were unearthed. Both propellers were separated from their respective engines with portions of the propeller flanges attached to the crankshafts. The propellers were located buried with the engines. All of the propeller blades were bent forward to varying degrees.

Both engines were torn down and a postaccident examination was conducted. No anomalies were noted that would have prevented normal operation of the engines.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

An autopsy was performed on the pilot on February 24, 2011, December 31, 2010, by the East Central Indiana Pathologistis, P.C., Muncie, Indiana, at the direction of the Fayette County Coroner.

Forensic toxicology was performed on specimens from the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The test results were negative for all substances tested.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

According to the CEV airport manager, the accident pilot had flown into the airport several times in the past to purchase fuel. The fuel pumps at CEV were self-serve. Airport fueling records show that the pilot had purchased fuel at CEV 5 times in 2010. Four of the five flights were during daylight hours. The airport rotating beacon was out of service at the time of the accident. The runway lights are set to be on low from dusk to dawn and are pilot controlled for higher intensity. The lights were checked following the accident and they operated normally. It could not be determined if the accident pilot had increased the runway light intensity.

The witness reported the airplane flew east over the airport and was turning to the north when the accident occurred. The town of Connersville is to the south of the airport and the airplane was turning away from the town. The direction in which the airplane was turning was rural, mostly open land with very few lights to provide a ground reference.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot did not maintain control of the airplane while making a low-altitude turn during dark night conditions.