ATL97LA073

The airplane collided with power lines after takeoff and crashed into a pond. According to witnesses, the airplane was seen flying 1 to 2 feet above the ground before it struck the power lines. When it collided with the power lines, the passenger stated 'there was a loud pop and the plane went belly up'. The passenger was able to escape the aircraft, but he reported that he was unable to release the pilot's lap belt. The pilot received multiple mild internal injuries and drowned. The pilot's toxicological report revealed 186.000 mg/dl ethanol in blood, and 218.000 mg/dl ethanol in vitreous fluid.

On May 20, 1997, about 2030 eastern daylight time, a Capstaff Challenger II, an unregistered homebuilt/experimental airplane, collided with power lines after takeoff in Southern Pines, North Carolina. It subsequently crashed into a pond at the Legacy Golf Course in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot was fatally injured, the passenger received minor injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The flight departed a private airstrip about 2025 the same day.

According to a witness statement contained in the police report on this accident, the passenger stated he and the pilot "took off from the airstrip at their house and were flying around 3,500 feet, flying around in a big circle". The plane then struck power lines in the area. According to the passenger, "there was a loud pop and the plane went belly up and then it hit the water." The passenger was then thrown from the airplane because he "was not strapped in". He checked on the pilot, but was not able to remove him from the airplane. The passenger then stated he swam to shore, found a house, and called 911.

According to a witness who was playing golf on the golf course at the time of the accident, he saw the airplane come down and fly "the length of the pond about 1 foot off of the water. At the end of the pond, the plane's wheels were actually touching the water". The plane then climbed a few feet and turned around for another pass over the water. The plane "flew back towards him and came within 2 feet of him". The plane then flew the length of the pond for a third time before the golfer left. He did not see or hear the airplane again, according to his statement.

According to the witness who helped the passenger call 911 from his house, the passenger stated "his plane had crashed in a swamp on the golf course and that Jimmy was still in the plane". The passenger then stated he "had gotten Jimmy out of the plane and left him lying on a bank near the water". He also stated that "Jimmy was alert and talking". When rescue personnel arrived and attempted to locate the pilot, they were unable to find him on the pond's shore. After about an hour, personnel from the fire department decided to swim out to the airplane where they found the pilot still strapped in to the seat.

A post mortem examination of the pilot was performed by Dr. Jonathan E. Hasson of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Chapel Hill, North Carolina on May 21, 1997.

A toxicological examination of the pilot was performed by the Federal Aviation Administration, Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory. The toxicological report was positive for alcohol and negative for drugs. The report indicated that the amount of ethanol detected in the blood was 186.000 mg/dL. The amount of ethanol detected in vitreous fluids was 218.000 mg/dL. The amount of ethanol detected in the urine was 298.000 mg/dL