Piper PA-23-150 accident near Chico, California, September 10, 2001

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

Witnesses observed the airplane climb a maximum of 200 feet above the runway during its initial climb, and then it descended in a right wing low attitude until impacting the level ground short of the airport's perimeter fence. A fire erupted and consumed the airplane. Before the pilot succumbed to his injuries he reported to the responding medical personnel that "my engine failed and I was trying to turn around." The subsequent airframe examination revealed that the wings were fire damaged in areas corresponding to both the inboard and the outboard fuel tanks, and the fuel selectors were on the main tank positions. The landing gear was extended, and the rudder trim tab was set to a position consistent with a right engine power failure. No evidence of any internal engine mechanical malfunction was observed. The left propeller blades were torsionally twisted and gouged; the right blades sustained only minor damage. The pilot was an airframe and powerplant mechanic, had performed the maintenance on his airplane, and was its only pilot. He last flew the airplane about 3.5 months prior to the accident, and this was the first flight following maintenance. No logbook records were found that identified the maintenance performed. The cause of the right engine's nonmechanical loss of power was not determined. Given the prevailing meteorological conditions and the airplane's weight, performance data indicates that the airplane should have had a positive climb rate upon feathering the right engine's propeller blades and retraction of the landing gear.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.