At approximately 0750 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain. Visual conditions prevailed. The aircraft was operating on an IFR flight plan; the commercial pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was climbing from 7000 feet msl to 14,000 feet msl when the pilot reported losing “an engine.” Radar contact and voice communications were lost at 1000 feet. A witness observed the accident airplane flying from the north towards the south at a “really low” altitude. The witness indicated that the nose of the accident airplane rose up and then came down. He commented that he momentarily saw the belly of the airplane and then the airplane disappeared from view behind the trees.
