Fatal Crash of Cessna Turbo Stationair (Caldwell, NJ)

[The accident aircraft enters the frame at 5:17 and a smoke column from the crash is seen beginning ~6:21.]

The commercial pilot was departing in a turbocharged Cessa 206 Stationair, intending to fly to Teterboro where he would pick up the airplane's owner. He contacted the air traffic control tower and received instructions to taxi to the active runway and hold short. After doing so, he remained at the designated location for about five minutes. During this time, a nearby student pilot heard the airplane's engine cycle from near idle to full power about five times and reported that the engine did not "sound right."

The pilot requested and received clearance to takeoff, and, shortly after becoming airborne, advised that he had a "problem," declared an emergency, and requested to "return to the field immediately." The controller cleared the pilot to land on any runway, and the pilot reported that he was unable to maintain engine power. There was no further communication from the pilot.

This footage shows that the airplane was slow to accelerate, not rotating until about 1,800 ft down the 4,552-foot-long runway from the point where the pilot initiated his takeoff roll. Once airborne, the airplane began to pitch slightly up and down while remaining in ground effect. Considering that the pilot was the only occupant of the six-seat airplane, the airplane should have become airborne much sooner. Further, there was adequate runway remaining at the point of rotation for the pilot to abort the takeoff and stop on the remaining runway. However, the pilot elected to continue.

Examination of the wreckage revealed signatures indicating that the propeller and the turbocharger's turbine wheel were not rotating during the impact sequence. Following forensic analysis of the wreckage and related documentation the NTSB determined the probable causes of this accident to be "a loss of engine power due to a malfunction of the turbocharging system likely due to contaminated oil. Also causal were the pilot's decision to continue the takeoff although the airplane was not performing normally and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed following the loss of engine power, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the engine manufacturer's inadequate guidance regarding inspection and maintenance of its turbocharged engines.”

The NTSB report on this accident is unusually long. It contains extensive discussion of the accident with an (obvious) focus on the aircraft's turbocharging system. The full report can be found at http://tiny.cc/caldwellcrash.

Even if you are inclined to skip the photos in this video, I recommend you check out the sectioned check valve at 11:23. It's pretty cool.

Note: The confusing sound that'll wake you up just before 7:30 is from the computer that the FAA used to re-record the audio.

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