Greenville - Greenville

The pilot flew the airplane to a maintenance facility and turned it in for a phase inspection. The next morning, he arrived at the airport and planned a local flight to evaluate some avionics issues. He performed a preflight inspection and then went inside the maintenance facility to wait for two avionic technicians to arrive. In the meantime, two employees of the maintenance facility test ran the engines on the accident airplane for about 30 to 35 minutes in preparation for the phase inspection. The pilot reported that he was unaware that the engine run had been performed when he returned to the airplane for the local flight. He referred to the flight management system (FMS) fuel totalizer, and not the aircraft fuel gauges, when he returned to the airplane for the flight. He believed that the mechanics who ran the engines did not power up the FMS, which would have activated the fuel totalizer, thus creating a discrepancy between the totalizer and the airplane fuel gauges. The mechanics who performed the engine run reported that each tank contained 200 pounds of fuel at the conclusion of the engine run. The B200 Pilot’s Operating Handbook directed pilots not take off if the fuel quantity gauges indicate in the yellow arc or indicate less than 265 pounds of fuel in each main tank system. While on final approach, about 23 minutes into the flight, the right engine lost power, followed by the left. The pilot attempted to glide to the runway with the landing gear and flaps retracted, however the airplane crashed short of the runway. Only residual fuel was found in the main and auxiliary fuel tanks during the inspection of the wreckage. The tanks were not breached and there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site.
Greenville - Greenville — crash photo

Flight / Schedule

Greenville - Greenville

Registration

N337MT

MSN

BB-1628

Year of Manufacture

1998

Operator

MDTR Holdings

Date

November 9, 2009 at 10:09 AM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Test

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Crash Location

Greenville-Spartanburg South Carolina

Region

North America • United States of America

Coordinates

34.8954°, -82.2172°

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On November 9, 2009 at 10:09 AM, Greenville - Greenville experienced a crash involving Beechcraft 200 Super King Air, operated by MDTR Holdings, with the event recorded near Greenville-Spartanburg South Carolina.

The flight was categorized as test and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The pilot flew the airplane to a maintenance facility and turned it in for a phase inspection. The next morning, he arrived at the airport and planned a local flight to evaluate some avionics issues. He performed a preflight inspection and then went inside the maintenance facility to wait for two avionic technicians to arrive. In the meantime, two employees of the maintenance facility test ran the engines on the accident airplane for about 30 to 35 minutes in preparation for the phase inspection. The pilot reported that he was unaware that the engine run had been performed when he returned to the airplane for the local flight. He referred to the flight management system (FMS) fuel totalizer, and not the aircraft fuel gauges, when he returned to the airplane for the flight. He believed that the mechanics who ran the engines did not power up the FMS, which would have activated the fuel totalizer, thus creating a discrepancy between the totalizer and the airplane fuel gauges. The mechanics who performed the engine run reported that each tank contained 200 pounds of fuel at the conclusion of the engine run. The B200 Pilot’s Operating Handbook directed pilots not take off if the fuel quantity gauges indicate in the yellow arc or indicate less than 265 pounds of fuel in each main tank system. While on final approach, about 23 minutes into the flight, the right engine lost power, followed by the left. The pilot attempted to glide to the runway with the landing gear and flaps retracted, however the airplane crashed short of the runway. Only residual fuel was found in the main and auxiliary fuel tanks during the inspection of the wreckage. The tanks were not breached and there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site.

Aircraft reference details include registration N337MT, MSN BB-1628, year of manufacture 1998.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 34.8954°, -82.2172°.

Fatalities

Total

0

Crew

0

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

The pilot flew the airplane to a maintenance facility and turned it in for a phase inspection. The next morning, he arrived at the airport and planned a local flight to evaluate some avionics issues. He performed a preflight inspection and then went inside the maintenance facility to wait for two avionic technicians to arrive. In the meantime, two employees of the maintenance facility test ran the engines on the accident airplane for about 30 to 35 minutes in preparation for the phase inspection. The pilot reported that he was unaware that the engine run had been performed when he returned to the airplane for the local flight. He referred to the flight management system (FMS) fuel totalizer, and not the aircraft fuel gauges, when he returned to the airplane for the flight. He believed that the mechanics who ran the engines did not power up the FMS, which would have activated the fuel totalizer, thus creating a discrepancy between the totalizer and the airplane fuel gauges. The mechanics who performed the engine run reported that each tank contained 200 pounds of fuel at the conclusion of the engine run. The B200 Pilot’s Operating Handbook directed pilots not take off if the fuel quantity gauges indicate in the yellow arc or indicate less than 265 pounds of fuel in each main tank system. While on final approach, about 23 minutes into the flight, the right engine lost power, followed by the left. The pilot attempted to glide to the runway with the landing gear and flaps retracted, however the airplane crashed short of the runway. Only residual fuel was found in the main and auxiliary fuel tanks during the inspection of the wreckage. The tanks were not breached and there was no evidence of fuel leakage at the accident site.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

1

Passengers On Board

2

Estimated Survivors

3

Fatality Rate

0.0%

Known people on board: 3

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Greenville - Greenville

Operator

MDTR Holdings

Flight Type

Test

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Region / Country

North America • United States of America

Aircraft Details

Registration

N337MT

MSN

BB-1628

Year of Manufacture

1998

Similar Plane Crashes

May 2, 1918 at 12:00 AM2 Fatalities

United States Signal Corps - USSC

De Havilland DH.4

The single engine airplane departed Dayton-McCook Field for a local test flight. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing both occupants. Crew: Maj Oscar Brindley, Lt Col Henry Damm.

June 19, 1918 at 12:00 AM1 Fatalities

United States Signal Corps - USSC

De Havilland DH.4

Lt. Frank Stuart Patterson, son and nephew of the co-founders of National Cash Register, is killed in the crash of his DH.4M, AS-32098, at Wilbur Wright Field during a flight test of a new mechanism for synchronizing machine gun and propeller, when a tie rod breaks during a dive from 15,000 feet (4,600 m), causing the wings to separate from the aircraft. Wishing to recognize the contributions of the Patterson family (owners of NCR) the area of Wright Field east of Huffman Dam (including Wilbur Wright Field, Fairfield Air Depot, and the Huffman Prairie) is renamed Patterson Field on 6 July 1931, in honor of Lt. Patterson.

November 9, 1918 at 12:00 AM

United States Signal Corps - USSC

De Havilland DH.4

The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances.

November 12, 1918 at 12:00 AM1 Fatalities

United States Signal Corps - USSC

De Havilland DH.4

The crew was completing a training mission. At an altitude of about 4,000 feet, the aircraft entered a spin and crashed in an open field near Everman-Barron Field Airport. A crew was killed and the second occupants was injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

November 14, 1918 at 12:00 AM

U.S. Air Mail Service

De Havilland DH.4

Crashed following an engine failure. Pilot fate unknown.

November 20, 1918 at 12:00 PM

United States Signal Corps - USSC

De Havilland DH.4

The accident occurred in unknown circumstances.