19990424003999A

Acft crashed under unknown circumstances, the 2 POB suffered fatal injuries, the acft was destroyed. (.19) on April 24, 1999, about 2130 hours pacific daylight time, a globe GC-1B, N80720, was destroyed when it collided with terrain near Trona, California. The personal flight was conducted by the rivate pilot/owner under the provisions of 14 CFR part 91. The aircraft departed the Trona Airport approximately 8 to 10 minutes earlier with the intent to fly over the female passenger's campground. Both occupants sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot and a friend flew to Trona for an overnight visit. The pilot departed sacramento in the late moring hours, and arrived in Trona in the early afternoon after making a fuel stop in porterville, California. After dinner that evening, a group from the airport decided to visit a large group camped near the airport. A female member of the camping group asked for an airplane ride; this pilot volunteered. Witnesses at the campground related to sheriff's deputies that aircraft had flown over the campground earlier in the day at a very low altitude and they admonished the pilot to not fly that low again. The witnesses observed the lights of the aircraft as it departed Trona and began flying over the dry lakebed where they were camped. They said the aircraft came over the camp ground twice. They stated the engine sounded smooth as it passed overhead at no more than 100 feet. They observed the aircraft begin a right turn before losing sight of it. Witnesses stated it took approximately 1/2 hour to locate the wreckage on the desolate lakebed. The main wreckage came to rest approximately 177 feet from the initial impact point (ipp). The iip was an impression in soft, moist dirt; contained within this impression were green lens fragments and a lens cap. An 18-foot furrow, 1-foot wide and 3-inches deep, led to the principal impact crater(PIC). This furrow was along a heading of 180 degrees. The propeller and its hub separated from the end of the crankshaft; they were found approximate 49 feet from the iip and 15 feet right of the centerline of the wreckage path. The spinner was crushed flat on the hub. Both blades had s-bends and were twisted. Seventy-five feet from the iip and 7 feet right was a gouge in the dirt, and 5 feet right were red lens fragments. Both wings separated at the wing root. The inverted right wing was on the centerline of the wreckage path at the 96-foot mark. The upright left wing was at 133 feet from the iip and 12 feet right. Both wings exhibited leading edge crush damage. The main wreckage consisted of the engine, fuselage, and empennage. The fuselage came to rest on its right side on a heading of 100 degrees. The empennage was partially separated ahead of the horizontal stabilizers and was twisted nearly to the inverted position. The fuselage fractured behind the cabin area and separated around the left side. The cabin rotated about the right side to a heading of 245 degrees. The cabin was split open along the top, and severly crushed and twisted. Plexiglass shards were found in the debris field from the PIC to the main wreckage. All control surfaces were accounted for in the debris field. Control cables for the right aileron fractured at the wing root in a bomb burst pattern. The left wing control cables fractured at the aileron attachment rod end; the rod end was bent and the fracture surface was uneven. Control wires for the rudder and elevator fractured in the cabin area. These cables' ends exhibited a bomb burst pattern. The cables could not be traced through the cabin to the control yoke due to the extensive cabin deformation. The top of the engine was packed by more than an inch of dirt with the right side more heavily coated than the left. The oil pan had several large pieces missing. Through these holes, the crankshaft, camshaft, and connecting rods appeared intact. The top spark plugs were removed and showed no indications of mechanical damage. The starter separated from the engine and the magnetos exhibited impact damage. The wreckage was released to the Trona Airport manager. (-23)on April 24, 1999, at 2159 PST, a globe GC-1B, crahsed 2 miles south of the Trona Airport in Trona, CA. The aircraft was reported to have made 3 flight passes, at an altitude of no more then 200 feet, past a group of people that had veen camping in the desert area near the crash site. During the last rutn the aircraft was heard to impact the ground approximately 1500 feet away. Do to the lack of available light that night, the people where not able to see the crash. The elevation at the airport 2 miles away is 1716 feet which is level with the terrain at the crash site. The aircraft was destroyed. The pilot and passenger received fatal injuries. Also the passenger was a member of the group that had been camping during the weekend. (.4) the pilot flew over a campground at an altitude that was less than 100 feet. The pilot and several friends subsequently visited the campground. One of the female campers asked for an airplane ride, and this pilot volunteered. The airplane made three passes directly over the campground; each pass was successively lower. The altitude was estimated at less than 100 feet for all three passes. The sun had set, and the airplane appeared in silhouette as it passed by. After the third pass, the airplane was observed to make a hard right turn and angle down. A sun and moon computer program determined there was 75 percent illumination of the moon and civil twilight was at 2033. No discrepancies were found with the airplane or engine. Positive results for amitriptyline and nortriptyline were obtained from blood and liver samples. The doctor who prescribed this medication was not the pilot's aviation medical examiner. The doctor told the safety board medical officer t he patient had not reported any daytime sedation due to this medication. The doctor was not aware his patient was a pilot. FAA aviation medical examiners are instructed (1996 guide for aviation medical examiners, page 21) to defer certification to the FAA aeromedical certification division for any airman on "mood-ameliorating" medication. A certified copy of the pilot's application for a medical certificate did not list amitriptyline in block 17 "do you currently use any medication (prescription or nonprescription)."