# NTSB CEN19FA235: Cessna 175, N7013M, Kilgore, TX, July 20, 2019 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report - Date: July 20, 2019, 18:20 local (23:20 UTC) - Place: Kilgore, TX - Coordinates: 32.379428, -94.860847 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3794&lon=-94.8608&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 99919 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN19FA235 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/99919/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99919 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19FA235 ## Probable cause The noncertificated pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack when the airplane became airborne during a high-speed taxi test, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Other (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 175, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072502), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: angle of attack](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 175, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md?model=2072502), [All aircraft, 990 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: pitch control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062022): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 175, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062022/cases.md?model=2072502), [All aircraft, 526 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062022/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 175, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=2072502), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Takeoff: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241); cases with it: [Cessna 175, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=2072502), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) ## Analysis The noncertificated pilot was performing a high-speed taxi on a grass runway when the airplane became airborne, then impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude. The airplane’s left wing and forward fuselage sustained substantial damage. Examination of the airplane revealed no preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The accident was consistent with the pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack when the airplane became airborne during a high-speed taxi test, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain. Whether a medical factor contributed to the accident could not be determined from available evidence. ## Factual narrative The airport owner reported that he rented hangar space to the accident pilot since the pilot purchased the airplane on October 22, 2008. The initial application for airplane’s registration was made on February 8, 2012. The registration expired on March 3, 2018. A new application for FAA registration was submitted on March 3, 2018. A FAA Airworthiness Safety Inspector inspected the aircraft at the airport every year during the last weeks of July from 2013, to 2019. The recording tachometer in the aircraft in 2013 was 2834.2 hours and remained the same for the next two years. On July 21, 2016, the recording tachometer read 2834.6 hours and was the same reading on July 29, 2017. On July 25, 2018, the recording tachometer read 2835.0 hours. At the accident, the recording tachometer read 2836.1 hours. The recording tachometer readings were consistent with what the airport owner reported; that the aircraft owner would come out to run the engine and taxi the aircraft from time to time. No maintenance records were located. On July 20, 2019, about 1820 central daylight time, a Cessna 175 airplane, N7013M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Kilgore, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The owner of the airport reported that he watched the accident airplane taxi to the south end of the grass runway and perform a normal run-up. The airplane then began a fast taxi down the runway, during which he lost sight of the airplane behind trees located along the northern third of the runway. He heard the airplane’s engine accelerate, slow, and increase again, followed by the sound of an impact. He got into his vehicle and drove to the accident site about halfway down the runway and 100 ft east of the centerline. The airplane came to rest nose-down in the grass. The pilot was seriously injured during the accident and airlifted to a local hospital; he succumbed to his injuries 27 days after the accident. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences (SWIFS) Office of the Medical Examiner. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was complications of blunt force injuries. SWIFS toxicological testing of antemortem blood from the pilot detected rocuronium, a medication that was administered during post-crash medical care. The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory tested blood from the pilot for volatiles, including ethanol, with negative results. Too little antemortem specimen was available for further analysis. The accident pilot was denied a Federal Aviation Administration airman medical certificate in 2009. He did not hold a pilot certificate. The airplane came to rest on its nose and main landing gear at a 35° nose-down angle. The engine, cowling, and forward fuselage were crushed aft and bent upward. The left wing was bent and crushed upward at midspan. The position of the wingflaps at the time of the accident could not be determined. The propeller, spinner, and reduction gearbox were separated and located about 25 ft left of the airplane. The propeller blades showed S-bending, chordwise scratches, and leading edge gouging. Rotational continuity of the engine was established and there was fuel present in the gascolator. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7013M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7013M-2021-07-31), registration cancelled 2021-07-31, S/N 55313, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 175 (Undesignat) - Registry model: [Cessna 175](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-175) (registry code 2072502) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 55313 - Year built: 1958 - Airframe hours: 2836.1 - Engines: Continental O-300 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 25, 2018, 1.1 hours before - Airport: 4TX6, Kilgore Airport, runway 36, 2,780 × 100 ft, grass/turf - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 66; injuries: fatal; seat: left; flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20190720012239A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190720012239A), Jul 20, 2019: Cessna 175, Kilgore, TX, Destroyed, 1 fatal. The airport owner witnessed the aircraft begin a fast taxi, and lost sight of the aircraft due to the trees along the north third of the runway. The airport… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 17, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99919. 3.5 MB in all. - FAA investigative report (item 1, PDF, 2 pages, 73 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13074276&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N7013M%20FAA%20Investigative%20Report-Rel.pdf - Photographs (item 2, PDF, 6 pages, 3.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13074976&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Kilgore,%20TX%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf - Toxicology report (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 124 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13084203&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilot%20Toxicology%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.