Tafuna/Pago Pago International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pago Pago, American Samoa
Tuesady, July 22, 2014 21:58 LCL

On July 22, 2014, about 2158 local standard time (0858 Universal Coordinated Time, July 23), a Beech BE A36, N20TC, crashed into the water after departure from Tafuna/Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot and the pilot's private pilot rated father sustained fatal injuries. Only remnants of the airplane have been recovered. The cross-country personal flight was departing en route nonstop to Honolulu (PHNL), Hawaii. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. One ground crewman and his wife met the pilot and his father at the airport to support the departure, and observed the pilot completing preflight checks. The ground crewman queried if they were going to depart, and the father replied yes noting that the weather was great. The ground crewman stated that the wind had been gusty and strong all day and evening. He observed the airplane taxi for departure, and repositioned himself so that he could observe the whole runway for the takeoff. As the airplane moved down the runway, the ground crewman noted that the wind was very strong. The airplane became airborne, but it was moving up and down and side to side; it also was not gaining altitude. At this point, the airplane had passed the very high frequency omni-directional radio range, tactical air navigation (VORTAC), but was still very low. Before the airplane reached the end of the runway, it banked to the right towards the ocean. Over the next few seconds, the airplane kept getting lower, and then disappeared. He did not observe it contact the water; he only saw the lights getting lower and lower. He observed no explosion, and heard no noise. The ground crewman stated that he contacted the airport duty supervisor to determine if there had been any contact with the airplane. The supervisor responded that he was waiting for a call from the pilot after the takeoff, and the ground crewman reported that he thought it went into the ocean. Another witness was a couple of miles away sitting on a seawall facing the airport. He reported that the engine was loud as the airplane was taking off. He reported that it was unusual that the airplane did not immediately gain altitude. He stated that a few seconds after takeoff, the airplane suddenly went nose down into the water. The American Samoa Department of Public Safety located the pilot's body at 0040; it was strapped to a seat cushion. They reported burn marks on the body, and a strong odor of gasoline. They recovered a life raft, a survival suit and clothing, a fuselage piece, a duffel bag, and two gumby suits along with other debris. A pilot who was very experienced in transoceanic flights had been in contact with the pilot's father for several months during the planning of the trip, as well as during the trip. On the day of departure, the father indicated that the airplane had 249 gallons of fuel on board, and anticipated a 2300 departure time so that he and his son could land in Hawaii during daylight hours. He had purchased two life vests for them to wear instead of the gumby suits. He indicated that they planned to take off with 10 degrees of flaps, accelerate in ground effect, start a slow climb to 200 feet, retract the landing gear, climb to 500 feet and retract the flaps, and then climb to 5,000 feet and level out. Once the power and fuel settings were established for cruise, they would initiate a shallow climb to 7,000 feet, maintain that for 2-3 hours, and then establish a shallow climb to 9,000 feet.

Not Yet Reported