NTSB Identification: WPR10FA473
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 27, 2010 in Phoenix, AZ
Aircraft: Hawker Beechcraft F33, registration: N1600W
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 27, 2010, about 1058 mountain standard time, a Hawker Beechcraft F33A, N1600W, collided with a building during landing at Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was killed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The local personal flight departed Deer Valley Airport at an undetermined time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot’s family reported that he tried to fly weekly in order to maintain proficiency. That was the purpose of this flight.

A review of recorded air traffic control tower (ATCT) transmissions revealed that the pilot reported inbound at 4,000 feet for landing. He was cleared into the traffic pattern for a left downwind to runway 07L. There were several planes ahead of him, and he asked the ATCT to call his turn to left base for him. After his traffic called a 3-mile final, the ATCT advised him to turn, and he acknowledged.

While on final, the ATCT advised the pilot that he appeared to be low. He responded that he was experiencing engine difficulties, and would try to make the runway. Witnesses reported that the airplane was very low, and the engine was sputtering and backfiring. Several witnesses, including a couple of certified flight instructors, stated that the airplane’s wings were rocking, and the nose attitude was high. One witness looking head-on at the airplane noted that the nose pitched down just prior to the airplane colliding with a building. The airplane and building caught fire; one witness reported that the building’s sprinkler system activated, and an alarm sounded.

The airplane came to rest inside an industrial building lobby. The customer entrance was enclosed in floor-to-ceiling windows on its two exterior walls. The glass was shattered, and debris from the windows and ceiling were on top of the wreckage. Charring was observed on the inside and outside of the airframe and inside the building. The building faced to the west-southwest. The fuselage, one propeller blade, empennage, most of the right wing, most of the left wing with the aileron attached, and landing gear were contained within the office space.

The engine with two propeller blades attached was displaced from the airframe, and went through a steel door and frame into a second room. The engine and propeller remained connected via the engine driven alternator power wire. All four engine mounts were fractured and separated from the airframe. The engine did not display evidence of catastrophic failure.

The first identified point of contact was a ground scar along a 052-degree magnetic heading toward the left front edge of the building when facing the entrance. The scar continued across a red curb that was 10 feet from the office’s entry point; the red curb exhibited scuff marks.

There was a scrape mark that angled up 38 degrees along the right side of the building’s entrance. The bottom of the scrape started about 8 feet high.

The left side of the building’s face had scrape marks about 1 foot above the ground. The portion of the left wing outboard of the aileron actuating rod was along the outside of the north facing side of the building. This piece was inverted, and displayed red scrape marks about 2 feet inboard from the wingtip.

The remaining portion of the left wing was displaced aft about 30 degrees to the fuselage. The aileron remained attached to this piece; its control cable fractured and separated. The right wing was displaced aft parallel to the fuselage. The aft fuselage and empennage remained intact, but were displaced to the left. Investigators established control continuity for the elevators and rudder.

Investigators examined the airframe and engine at a recovery yard. The engine was slung from a hoist, and the top spark plugs were removed. The crankshaft was rotated with a tool in an accessory drive gear. The crankshaft rotated freely through 360 degrees. The valves moved approximately the same amount of lift except for the exhaust valve for cylinder number two, which did not move at all. The crankcase sustained crush damage in the vicinity of this valve, and impinged on it. Thumb compression was established on all cylinders except cylinder number two. The fuel pump shaft rotated freely, and the gears in the accessory case turned freely.

A borescope inspection revealed no mechanical deformation on the valves, cylinder walls, or internal cylinder head. The combustion chambers and piston heads had a layer of white and yellow colored deposits. The numbers one, three, and five cylinder spark plug electrode areas had white deposits.

Investigators manually rotated the magnetos, and both magnetos produced spark at all posts. The impulse couplings engaged.

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