N51AL Beech Duke A60 down in NY (non-fatal)

Turbo-Arrow-Driver

Turbo-Arrow-Driver

Pre-takeoff checklist
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The last link, a thread on twitter claims the descent rates don't seem normal, but to my eye they are about 1,000 fpm which would not be unusual for that a/c...yes? Eventually we'll probably hear from the pilot since both occupants survived.

https://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/193368307/n51al-1973-beechcraft-a60-duke

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/300555

https://longisland.news12.com/suffolk-police-small-plane-crashes-in-west-babylon-cemetery-2-injured

https://twitter.com/DeMelaatse/status/1589118593589202944
 
Well, he looked cool up until that point.

Tail didn't fall off?
Ran out of fuel because it's a pig and won't run lean of peak?
 
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Well, so close to the runway. Every airport seems to have a cemetery right next to it....
 
Damn, makes you appreciate how solidly built that plane is
 
A few years ago I briefly wondered about purchasing one of those Dukes...the guy who does my annual inspections told me to perish the thought. He said they are real hangar queens.
 
N51AL-overhead.png

Found this overhead photo today. Looks like the pilot was trying to land on the road between the graves. May have missed, or veered off the road after touchdown. Either is feasible since it appears that the left-side prop was feathered when it broke off.
 
Found the recording on liveatc.net for Republic tower. The event starts at 13:00 on the recording.

https://archive.liveatc.net/kfrg/KFRG-Twr1-Nov-05-2022-1730Z.mp3

Here's a brief transcription as best as I could make out -- some of it is paraphrased.

Tower: N51AL, you can turn right 20 degrees and make it a left base rwy 19
N51AL: Negative, 51AL, emergency, engine's out
Tower: Roger, make approach straight in, all runways available, wind 200/11 gusts 17
Tower queries engine failure, just one? souls, fuel.
N51AL answsers one engine out, two on board 20 or 30 fuel (hard to make out the number)
Tower clears N51AL to land on rwy 32
N51AL: I have a surge on the other engine, looks like fuel <pump? unintelligible> problem
Tower: We're sending your info to airports ops...
N51AL: <unintelligible> make the field
Tower: We have Wellwood avenue that's parallel to rwy 32, there is traffic on it however
N51AL: Can;t make it
Tower: There is a big grass field right by the cemetery, right in front of Wellwood
N51AL: Can't make it

Not sure but that may have been the last transmission from the Duke.

 
Turbo-Arrow-Driver said:
A few years ago I briefly wondered about purchasing one of those Dukes...the guy who does my annual inspections told me to perish the thought. He said they are real hangar queens.
Click to expand...
Yeah, flight planning 48 gph would make me wanna keep it parked.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Yeah, flight planning 48 gph would make me wanna keep it parked.
Click to expand...

So, having only 20 or 30 gallons left on approach was close to minimum fuel. Can anyone make out the fuel reported on the recording better than me? Sounded like 20 or 30 to me.

It seems the right engine quit at the very end but the prop wasn't feathered. Not sure what the altitude was at that point, but I'm wondering how much difference it would have made if that prop had been feathered. Anyone have experience in a Duke to comment on that?
 
What a great movie scene landing there.
Reminds me of my dream bloodmobile accident scene.
 
My father has had many aircraft and the Duke had no more maintenance than any of his other aircraft.
 
That's gonna be a lot of lawsuits. Such a shame that another airframe is lost, I'm a huge fan of the Duke. Good that they walked away from it though.
 
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