19980411006449A

Departed controlled flight during cruise. Impacted in plowed field. (.19) on April 11, 1998, at 1000 central daylight time (CDT), a rodgers Raven, N17JR, operated by a private pilot was destroyed when while in cruise flight, the airplane departed controlled flight and impacted into a plowed field. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being operated under 14 CFR part 91. No flight plan was on file. Both the pilot and the passenger on board were fatally injured. The local flight originated at clear lake, south dakota, at 0830 CDT. (.4) a witness said that he heard the airplane approach his farm from the north. 'The motor was pretty loud.' The airplane was traveling north to south at an altitude of approximately 100 feet above ground level (AGL). The airplane came to a position due west of where the witness was standing, and made a flat turn. After the pilot completed the turn, the airplane lost altitude. 'It was in a flat attitude as it descended. It didn't seem like the nose [of the airplane] dipped down.' The witness said that he lost sight of the airplane when it went behind some trees. He said that he heard the ai rplane impact on the ground. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies. The pilot told a witness, two weeks prior to the accident, that 'he only had about an hour's worth of flight time' in the airplane. Another witness said that the pilot might have flown the airplane the day before the accident, but it was more likely that he just did taxi tests. FAA toxicology testing of specimens from the pilot revealed volatile concentrations of bupropion in blood and liver samples. (-23) on pleasure flight, departed clear lake, SD. Aircraft was flying 100 to 150 feet when pilot made a right turn. Aircraft crashed in a plowed field and was destroyed. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured.