Beechcraft 95 N20FP

Summary

On 1 April 2010 at about 19:40 local time, a Beechcraft 95 registered N20FP, operated by Fischer Air LLC, was involved in an accident near Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 April 2010 at 19:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Flying Cloud Airport (FCM)

Coordinates

44.8275, -93.4586

Aircraft

Beechcraft 95

Registration

N20FP

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Fischer Air LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minneapolis → New Richmond

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA188

2 people were seriously injured.

The fatigue failure of an intake valve spring on the right engine, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power on takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he had no recollection of the events leading up to the accident. The passenger reported that the airplanes' engines seemed to come up to full power during takeoff. The airplane lifted off about halfway down the runway; however, it didn't climb very well. The stall warning sounded just as the airplane was off the end of the runway, and the pilot's efforts to continue flight were unsuccessful. The right wing dropped, and the airplane descended and impacted the ground. A witness reported that the airplane's nose was pitched up 10 to 15 degrees and the wings appeared to be level, as it was flying in ground effect about 10 feet agl. He noted that the engines seemed to be running without any obvious problems. A postaccident examination revealed a lack of compression on the right engine No. 4 cylinder. Further investigation determined that the intake valve spring on the cylinder had fractured. Metallurgical examination noted that the fracture surfaces exhibited features indicative of fatigue progression initiated by corrosion pitting. Corrosion pits and red rust deposits were observed on many areas of the spring. The fatigue initiation also coincided with longitudinal tooling marks consistent with the original forming of the spring. Maintenance records indicated the right engine had been overhauled nearly 2 years prior to the accident. The cylinders were replaced with new non-original equipment manufacturer (OEM) assemblies at that time. The replacement cylinder assemblies were furnished with the valves and valve springs installed. According to the pilot, the right engine had accumulated 18 hours since overhaul.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.