NTSB Factual Report

On August 1, 2015, about 2100 eastern daylight time, a Beechcraft King Air C90B, N257CQ, experienced a loss of engine power during cruise flight and subsequently impacted terrain near Georgetown Scott County Airport – Marshall Field (27K), Georgetown, Kentucky. The commercial pilot and one passenger sustained serious injuries and the two other passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument rules flight plan was filed for the flight that departed the James M Cox Dayton International Airport (DAY), Dayton, Ohio, about 2023 with an intended destination of Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME), Somerset, Kentucky. The airplane was owned and operated by Absher Air LLC as a personal flight in accordance with the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to an interview the FAA inspector conducted with the pilot, a fuel crossfeed light illuminated, the pilot reset the indication, and the right engine immediately lost power while in cruise flight. He further reported that the autofeather system feathered the right engine propeller. The pilot could not recall feathering the left engine; however, due to the injuries the pilot sustained, the inspector suspended the interview until a later date.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane impacted the ground in a right wing low attitude. The airplane slid about 174 feet, impacted an embankment, became airborne, and then came to rest on airport property, about 238 feet from the initial impact location. According to FAA and local police photographs, the airplane came to rest upright, on the belly of the aircraft, parallel to an airport taxiway. The left engine propeller was found in the feathered position, separated from the engine flange, and was in the vicinity of the wreckage. All four propeller blades exhibited S-bending and chordwise scratching along the propeller face. The right engine propeller blade was in flat pitch; however, only one propeller blade was bent aft and no other damage was observed on the other three right engine propeller blades.

Preliminary information revealed that the flight originated at Red Lake Airport (CYRL), Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, earlier in the afternoon, flew to Duluth International Airport (DLH), Duluth, Minnesota, where fuel records indicated the airplane was fueled with 140 gallons of Jet A fuel with prist. The flight departed DLH about 50 minutes later and then landed in DAY, prior to departing to SME. According to personnel at the three fixed base operations (FBO) facilities at DAY, the airplane was not fueled at DAY prior to departure. One FBO facility reported that security video captured the airplane taxiing onto the FBO ramp and the engines being shut down. Several people exited the airplane and were let out through the security gate to the parking lot. Subsequently, four people returned to the aircraft and it taxied out.

The aircraft and engines were retained by NTSB for further examination.