Beechcraft 95-B55 | N5868S

The DTSB determines the Probable Cause of this accident to be Pilot Error, in that the pilot encountered an in flight catastrophic left engine failure, and while the pilot was able to feather the left engine, he did allow the speed to fall below DMMS, and then below Vmc. The pilot was unsure of the location of the Crystal River airport, and asked for navigation help on the local unicom frequency. The pilot turned the aircraft left into the dead engine, whereupon it stalled and entered a Vmc roll, and a left spiral spin to impact. The left engine remained attached to the wing and exhibited impact and fire damage. A 10-inch hole was observed on the engine crankcase above the No. 5 cylinder. The Nos. 5 and 6 connecting rods were separated from their pistons and broken connecting rod fragments were located inside the engine case. The propeller had separated from the crankshaft flange and was in the blades appeared to be in a feathered position. A witness observed the airplane’s left wing dipped sharply, and it entered a spiraling descent. The airplane completed two revolutions before descending behind trees, followed by a plume of smoke and an explosion.

The DTSB recommends that all pilots of all multi engine aircraft rehearse and become conditioned to the loss of an engine in flight and the proper conditioned muscle memory responses which must be used immediately. The DTSB recommends that multi engine pilots lower the pitch to level flight, ensure gear and flaps are up, Identify, verify, and feather inoperative engine. Then raise the nose slightly to climb at exactly Vyse, which is the same as DMMS in a light twin. Do NOT make any turns until the aircraft is under control and at least 1000 feet above ground is attained, and maintained. Turn towards a suitable airport, or a suitable off field landing area by raising the dead engine. The DTSB recommends that pilots NEVER turn into a dead engine. The DTSB recommends AQP multi engine conditioning for all multi engine pilots.