Hoping this helps
Mr and Mrs Miller, Like many others I find myself with feelings of unspeakable sadness at your loss. I am a retired airline pilot but with a lot of Seneca time in my log-boks.
Firstly, I agree with previous views that both propellors appear to be feathered.
You may or may not appreciate that one would normally only feather a propellor in flight following an engine failure (Feathering significantly reduces the drag and therefore permits improved performance when flying on the remaining engine or - heaven forbid - when gliding if you've lost both engines.)
As a result of mass and inertia (those air-cooled 6-cylinder engines are pretty heavy), it is quite common for engines to seperate from the wing in the event of impact or in-flight break-up. Among the many cables, wires, tubes etc connecting the engine to the wing is the propellor control cable which invariably breaks under tension when the engine assembly departs.
Mine is only one opinion and the grey-matter isn't what it once was but I agree that the propellors went into the fully-feathered position as a result of control-cable breakage when the engine seperated. Incidentally, I can think of no reason why the undercarriage was found to be in the "down" position.
Finally, on the limited amount of evidence about the debris-field, I too would consider this to be an in-flight break-up. I send mylove and best wishes and hope that you find some comfort in the knowledge that your beloved son died doing something that he loved. Regards, Mel
Last edited by BoeingMEL; 18th November 2009 at 12:47.