“Right Downwind For 23, I Have No Power.”

Location: Hemet, CA Accident Number: WPR22FA198
Date & Time: June 7, 2022, 09:30 Local Registration: N18244
Aircraft: Beech 77 Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Instructional

On June 07, 2022, about 0930 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 77 Skipper, N18244, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident in Hemet,  California.

The student pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to the student pilot's flight instructor, the pilot was authorized to depart Redlands Municipal Airport (REI), Redlands, California and fly about 22 NM south to Hemet-Ryan Airport (HMT), Hemet. The accident flight was the pilot’s second solo cross-country flight from REI to HMT. A witness that was operating in the HMT traffic pattern reported that he had just departed runway 23 and was making left traffic. The witness was on the upwind leg of the pattern when he heard the accident pilot make a radio call over the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) that stated, “Right downwind for 23, I have no power.” The witness continued to the downwind leg and saw the accident airplane about midfield, over the runway and descending through about 150 ft above ground level (agl). The witness observed the accident airplane flying at an airspeed that he identified as a faster than normal approach speed, as the airplane passed over the departure end of runway 23 about 100 ft AGL. The witness lost sight of the airplane, and shortly after observed a plume of smoke.

According to a second witness that was monitoring the CTAF during their employment shift, reported that the accident airplane made two touch and go landings, and aborted the third landing on runway 23. According to the witness, the airplane did not touch down on the runway and remained about 30 ft agl. Shortly after, a distress call was transmitted over the CTAF stating, "I am declaring an emergency, loss of power." The witness recalled that the airplane made a left turn and  touched down on the soft dirt surface of a plowed vegetation field.

Ground markings in the dirt surface revealed that the airplane bounced twice during the landing roll. The total ground roll distance was about 665 ft and veer right, prior to the airplane crossing a residential roadway. The airplane then collided with a retaining wall located on the east side of the road. The airplane's engine, cabin, left wing root, and the right wing breached the cinder block retaining wall and sustained thermal damage. The aft fuselage and the empennage did not breach the wall and did not sustain thermal damage.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov