NTSB Factual Report

**This report was modified on August 23, 2016. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.**

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 12, 2014, about 2119 central daylight time, a Beech C24R airplane, N23984, impacted terrain near Denton, Texas, during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The private pilot sustained serious injuries, one passenger sustained minor injuries, and one passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. It was registered to N-Ovation Systems, LLC, and was being operated on a visual flight rules flight plan under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Night, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The cross country flight originated from Drake Field (FYV), Fayetteville, Arkansas, about 1830, and its destination was Hicks Field (T67), Fort Worth, Texas.

The pilot reported he was level at 4,500 ft as he neared Class B airspace. Air traffic control (ATC) advised him to descend to 3,500 ft and he reduced power to begin the decent. He pulled the throttle back to set manifold pressure at 19 [inches] and pulled the propeller control to set 2,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). There was initially a large drop in RPM, so he eased the propeller control forward slightly. He stated the RPM initially responded, but then fell and "he had no propulsion." He said he received a manifold pressure alarm and pulled the throttle back to idle. The pilot scanned the engine instruments and the engine oil pressure and temperature were "normal." He declared a "Mayday" and indicated to ATC an assumed loss of oil pressure to the propeller. He pushed the propeller and throttle controls full forward, but the engine and propeller did not respond. He attempted to set up a glide to nearby Denton Enterprise Airport (DTO), but did not have enough altitude to reach the airport. He contacted DTO tower and told them that he would not make the field and then set up for a forced landing to a dark area next to a road. Close to the ground the airplane's landing lights illuminated a tree. The pilot grabbed the flap handle, applied all three notches of flaps, and back pressure on the controls. The stall warning horn came on and the pilot pushed the nose of the airplane "back over." The pilot said that he didn't remember anything else until they were on the ground.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported the pilot contacted approach control about 2116, and transmitted "Mayday, the aircraft lost forward thrust." The arrival one controller gave the pilot directions to the Denton Enterprise Airport (DTO), and transferred the pilot to DTO tower.

DTO tower received a call from the pilot. The tower controller cleared the airplane to land on runway 18.

In a statement to a FAA inspector, the pilot told him that he had pulled the wrong knob back. He thought he had his hand on the propeller control, when actually he had it on the mixture knob. He moved the mixture knob too far aft which caused the engine to sputter and fail.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 39, held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land issued March 6, 1999, and a second-class airman medical certificate issued May 4, 2011, with the limitation "Must wear corrective lenses."

The pilot's logbook indicated the pilot had approximately 178 total hours, and 62 hours in Beech C24R type aircraft at the time of the accident. The pilot logged six hours in the 90 days prior to the accident, and four hours in 30 days before the accident. He also logged 16 total night hours.

The pilot's last flight review was accomplished on October 23, 2013.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a Beech C24R. The four-seat, low wing, single-engine airplane, serial number MC-471, was manufactured in 1977, and had a standard airworthiness certificate classifying its operation in the normal category, dated July 24, 2013.

The airplane was powered by one Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 fuel-injected, 4-cylinder horizontally opposed reciprocating engine, serial number RL-27762-51A, rated at 200 horsepower at 2,700 rpm.

The airplane was equipped with a 2-blade Hartzell model HC-M2YR-1BF constant-speed propeller, hub serial number EN334E.

According to the airplane's airframe logbook, the airplane underwent an annual inspection on September 13, 2013. The recorded total airframe time at the annual inspection was 6,729.0 hours. The last logbook entry was on April 3, 2014 where the airplane's inoperative alternator was replaced. The recorded tachometer time was 1,334.0 hours and the total airframe time was 6,783.6 hours. The airframe time at the accident was determined to be 6,790.0 hours.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At 2053, the Routine Aviation Weather Observation for DTO was wind 160 degrees at 14 knots, gusting 23 knots, clear skies, visibility 10 statute miles, temperature 75 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 61 degrees F, and altimeter 29.74 inches Hg.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The airplane impacted in a field of mesquite trees about 3/4-mile from the approach end of runway 18 at DTO. The accident site elevation was about 653 ft mean sea level (msl).

The airplane's impact heading was about 160-degrees. A small grove of trees, about 25 ft in height, and a ditch filled with water preceded the airplane's final resting location. Some branches in the trees were broken and showed impact marks from the airplane. A ground impact mark was observed about 70 ft from the trees along the 160-degree heading. About 20 ft beyond the ground scar was the airplane main wreckage.

The airplane rested upright against two trees, a large tree, about 6-inches in diameter, and a smaller one, and was oriented on a 020-degree heading. The large tree was embedded in the right wing at the right flap and wing root. The right flap was broken out and found resting on the ground behind the wing. The outer 30 inched of the flap was bent upward about 30 degrees. The right aileron was broken out and fractured at mid-span. The right main landing gear was collapsed.

The forward fuselage at the forward cabin seats was broken downward and canted right about 30 degrees. The forward windscreen was broken out and fragmented. The instrument panel was broken forward and down. The left and right cabin door posts were broken forward and the aft portion of the door frame to the right door was bent forward at the door latch. The cabin window immediately behind the right door frame was broken and a portion of the Plexiglas was broken out. The nose gear was collapsed.

The airplane's left wing was bent upward near mid-span about 15 degrees. A 5-inch long "C" shaped dent was located in the leading edge about 18 inches outboard of mid-span. The wing leading edge from the dent outboard to the wingtip was bent and buckled aft. The left flap was bent and broken forward beneath the wing. The left aileron was intact, attached to the wing, and showed minor dents and buckles. The left main landing gear remained extended. The landing gear door was bent and buckled about the gear strut.

The fuselage, aft of the forward seats, and empennage were intact and showed minor damage. The airplane's two-bladed propeller showed one blade undamaged and the other blade bent aft and twisted at mid-span. The bent blade showed rubbing and chordwise scratches near the hub. Control continuity was confirmed from the cabin to all control surfaces. The airplane was retained for further examination.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County, Texas, conducted an autopsy of the passenger who perished in the accident. According to the report, the passenger's cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head and thoracic spine due to [a] light aircraft crash.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

The airplane was examined on April 14 and 15, 2014, at Lancaster, Texas. The examination of the airplane's fuel, vacuum, and electrical systems, showed no anomalies. An examination of the airplane's engine showed no pre-impact anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operations. Additionally, an examination of the airplane's constant-speed propeller showed no pre-impact anomalies that would have precluded normal propeller operations.

A follow up examination of the airplane was conducted on July 27, 2016, at Lancaster, Texas. The restraint systems to all of the seats showed that all of the seat belt bayonets and buckles were undamaged and worked properly, that the belts were properly secured to their attach points in the floor, and there was no stretching or damage to the belt webbing. The shoulder harness attachments were intact. There was no stretching or damage to the harness webbing, and the inertia locking mechanisms worked properly.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot mistakenly manipulated the airplane's mixture knob rather than the propeller control knob during the descent, reducing the airplane's mixture knob to where the fuel-air mixture to the engine was too lean, which caused the engine to fail, and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the subsequent night forced landing.