CEN19FA323

The pilot was conducting a cross-country, personal flight. He had departed from his private airstrip and was on final approach for landing at his destination airport. One witness stated that it appeared that “the pilot overshot the runway and was banking back towards the east to make another approach.” The airplane banked too steeply and then “dove” toward the ground. He added that the pilot might have been “blinded” by the rising sun “as he banked and looked back east.” Another witness reported seeing the airplane “flying parallel to the highway” with it wings “perpendicular to the ground.” After the airplane flew over the highway, it banked “hard to the left and was too low to recover.” He then noticed a “flash” as if the right aileron had reflected the sunlight and the pilot was trying to bank right to level off but had insufficient airspeed “to correct.” The eastbound witness also had a dashboard camera, which captured the airplane's landing approach. The video showed the airplane fly east, parallel to the highway, then fly over the highway to the south, bank to the east, and then descend out of sight. The sun was about 2° above the horizon at an azimuth of about 89° at the time of the accident, and given the airplane’s position, it would have been shining directly into the pilot's eyes. The airplane impacted terrain about 520 ft west of the approach end of the landing runway and 50 ft north of the extended runway centerline. Postimpact fire consumed most of the cabin, instrument panel, fuselage, and right wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the main landing gear were down and that the flaps were set to 20° down. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering toward the final leg of the traffic pattern and facing the rising sun after overshooting the runway, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at too low of an altitude to recover.

Maintenance records were not located during the course of the investigation. On September 18, 2019, at 0731 eastern daylight time, a Beech V35 airplane, N5438U, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident at Madison County Airport (UYF), London, Ohio. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot was flying to UYF to attend the Ohio State University Farm Science Review. He departed from his personal airstrip, Apple Airstrip (0OH7), Piqua, Ohio, about 0715. He did not file a flight plan. Two people witnessed the accident. One witness was westbound on a highway in front of UYF. He stated it appeared that "the pilot overshot the runway and was banking back towards the east to make another approach.” The airplane then banked too steeply and “dove” toward the ground. He added that the pilot "may have been blinded [by the sun] as he banked and looked back east." The other witness was eastbound on the highway. He reported that he noticed an airplane "flying parallel to the highway” to his left (north) with its wings “perpendicular to the ground.” After the airplane flew over the highway, it “banked hard to the left and was too low to recover.” He then noticed a “flash” as if the right aileron had reflected the sunlight and the pilot was trying to bank right to level off but had insufficient airspeed “to correct." The eastbound witness had a dashboard camera, which captured the airplane's landing approach. The video showed the airplane fly east, parallel to the highway, then fly over the highway to the south, bank to the east, and then descend out of sight. The bright, rising sun directly faced the camera. An autopsy was performed by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. The cause of death was "multiple trauma." The FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Laboratory conducted toxicology tests on specimens from the pilot. The tests detected no evidence of ethanol or carboxyhemoglobin. Metoprolol and amlodipine were detected in cavity blood and liver, and benazepril was detected in cavity blood. Metoprolol, amlodipine, and benazepril are prescription medications that are commonly used to control high blood pressure. None of these medications are generally considered impairing. According to the NOAA Solar Calculator, the sun was about 2° above the horizon at an azimuth of about 89° at the time of the accident. The airplane impacted terrain in a left-wing, nose-low attitude on a magnetic heading of 045° about 520 ft west of the approach end of runway 9. It came to rest about 118 ft northeast of the initial impact point, which was about 50 ft north of the extended runway centerline. Postimpact fire consumed most of the cabin, instrument panel, fuselage, and right wing. The control yoke and rudder pedal assemblies were partially consumed by fire. One arm of the right-wing aileron bellcrank was fractured, butthe control cable remained attached. The right flap actuator was consumed by fire, but the left flap actuator was estimated at 20° down. The fuel selector valve was found positioned to the right fuel tank. The main landing gear (MLG) push-pull tubes were bent, and the MLG was down and locked. Flight control continuity was established. The engine could not be manually rotated due to its position at the accident site. The top spark plug leads from each magneto sparked when the magnetos were rotated. Both propeller blades were separated from the propeller hub, which remained attached to the engine. One propeller blade’s leading edge exhibited tip curling and impact damage, and the other propeller blade’s leading edge exhibited signatures consistent with the engine producing power at impact. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.