Beechcraft B100 | N30HG

The DTSB determines the Probable cause of this accident to be Pilot Error, in that the accident pilot was not prepared for, and did not respond properly to an inadvertent runaway nose down trim condition. The ATC recording indicates grunting and heavy breathing, indicative of the extreme exertion being applied to the control yoke in order to pull the aircraft out of the very steep nose down descent. Prior to the accident, The very low time private pilot had advanced quickly through his private pilot and instrument rating, and then purchased an M600, and then received multi engine training and certification at the private pilot level. The accident pilot purchased the accident aircraft in June of 2024. The accident aircraft spent a bulk of the 17 months since purchase in maintenance receiving new paint, new interior, engine work, inspection work, and all new Garmin avionics upgrades. The accident pilot pilot reportedly received “35 to 40 hours” of dual instruction in the aircraft from Joe Casey, Casey Aviation, prior to the accident, an unusually high number of dual hours given, indicating an extraordinary effort given by Mr. Casey to achieve a very basic level of operational ability in the aircraft. The NTSB report does not indicate the accident pilot total hours or multi engine hours, but based on flight history, it is likely very low for the equipment being operated. The accident pilot was not prepared for, and did not have available a conditioned immediate response to the elevator pitch trim activation at the time that it occurred. It is not possible to manually maintain level flight in this aircraft, at this speed, in a full nose down elevator trim condition. The seats were not removed for the proposed relief flight, and items were simply placed on the brand new corporate style seats, and in the aft open area. The B100 with all new leather interior and seats still installed was not a valid aircraft choice for hurricane relief work, and the amount of relief supplies to be carried on this flight was insignificant in comparison to the needs of the area.

The DTSB recommends that all pilots of all aircraft equipped with autopilot and electric pitch trim equipment, rehearse and condition themselves to be able to provide immediate emergency action items which can disable all electric pitch trim authority, and revert pitch trim control back to the manual trim wheel located in the cockpit pedestal. The DTSB also recommends a basic minimum total hours and certification requirement of 2000 hours and commercial multi engine certifications be required for single pilot turbine multi engine operations.