Suburban Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Laurel, Maryland 20724
Thursday, July 18, 2013 10:00 EDT

On July 18, 2013, about 1000 eastern daylight time, a Beech 23, N2333Z, was substantially damaged after a loss of power when it struck a tree and terrain shortly after takeoff from Suburban Airport (W18), Laurel, Maryland. The private pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, destined for Gettysburg Regional Airport (W05), Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. According to the pilot the purpose of the flight was to deliver the airplane to its new owner who had purchased the airplane from him in September of 2012. On the morning of the accident, the pilot awoke about 0830, and left for the airport. He arrived at W18 at approximately 0910. He then preflighted the airplane and visually checked the fuel. It was full of fuel as he had topped it off two days before, and "everything was normal". He selected the left tank before taxi, and prior to departure did an engine runup checking the engine for about 15 minutes. He did a "mag and mag drop" check and a "carb heat drop" check during the run-up and "both were normal". Prior to departure he selected "one notch of flaps", and proceeded to takeoff from runway 03. Everything was normal until the airplane was over the end of the runway at approximately 250 feet when the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot switched tanks, and turned on the boost pump in an attempt to get the engine to run without result. He then maneuvered to the left, and then to the right. The last thing he remembered was seeing a gray house. Post accident examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane had come to rest approximately a ½ mile from the departure end of runway 03. It initially made contact with a 40 foot tall pine tree, striking the tree approximately 24 feet above the base of the tree and fracturing the upper portion of the tree into two sections. The airplane then struck the northwest corner of a house separating the right wing from its mounting location. The airplane then continued forward approximately 70 feet, struck the west side of another house located across the street from the initial impact point with the tree, fracturing the fuselage just aft of the baggage door, and then coming to rest against the north side of the residence with the left wing penetrating the front of the house. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions of the airplane or flight controls. Further examination of the wreckage however revealed that a red piece of cloth was visible inside the right cowling inlet. Further examination of the cloth revealed that it was the cloth jacketing from a foam filled cowl plug and that it along with the foam insert were protruding from, and blocking, the engine air intake. The engine compartment also contained the remains of bird's nests, and bird excrement, and during examination of the carburetor it was discovered that the venturi of the carburetor contained a golf ball sized wasp's nest that was partially blocking the carburetor air inlet. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, and instrument airplane. He also held a repairman experimental aircraft builder certificate. His most recent application for a FAA third-class medical certificate was dated July 19, 2006. The pilot reported that he had accrued 3,571 total hours of flight experience. According to FAA records the airplane was manufactured in 1962. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on January 5, 1998. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accrued 4997.5 total hours of operation.

Not Yet Reported