CEN18LA123

The commercial pilot was attempting to land on an airstrip on his property, but on short final, the airplane struck power lines and then descended and impacted terrain. Examination of the airframe, engine, and related systems revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Before the accident flight, the pilot told a friend that he needed to return home before a certain time or there would be a problem with sun glare during landing. The pilot was approaching his airstrip on a westerly heading. The position of the sun was 14° above the horizon and about 20° left of the pilot's vision. The position of the sun likely hampered the pilot's ability to see the power lines, which resulted in his failure to avoid them.

On March 22, 2018, about 1830 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Star-Lite S1L airplane, N197X, collided with power lines while attempting to land at a private airstrip near Dewitt, Michigan. The pilot initially survived the accident but later succumb to his injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight. While on short final to the pilot's private airstrip, landing to the west, the airplane collided with power lines about 200 ft short of the runway. The airplane then descended and impacted terrain. According to information obtained by the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, prior to the accident, the pilot flew to another airport to visit a friend. The friend stated that the pilot said he needed to leave by a certain time, or he would have problems with sun glare during landing to his private strip. An autopsy was conducted on the pilot by the Sparrow Forensic Pathology. The autopsy noted an enlarged heart with left ventricular hypertrophy and very mild coronary artery disease. The cause of death is multiple blunt force injures. The manner of death was ruled an accident. The FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology testing on specimens collected from the pilot. Testing was negative for all tested substances. The position of the sun at the time of the accident was 14° above the horizon at a relative azimuth of 257° to the pilot during the approach. The airplane impacted a field east of the airstrip. The fuselage and both wings were wrinkled and deformed. An examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector confirmed flight control continuity to from the cockpit controls to the respective flight control surfaces. No anomalies were detected with the airframe or engine which would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.