CEN22FA203

The student pilot was returning to his home airport after making three stops to pick up and drop off equipment and a passenger. While the airplane was at low altitude about 5 miles from the student pilot’s home airport, the airplane made a left turn that was followed by a right turn near the airplane’s stall speed. The airplane rapidly descended and impacted a field in a nose-low attitude and with minimal forward momentum. The airplane came to rest upright, with both wings crushed downward and the engine partially separated and forward of the main wreckage. There was no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions were observed during examinations of the engine and airframe. Six empty mini-sized alcohol bottles were found in the airplane’s glove box. In addition, the pilot’s toxicology results showed ethanol concentrations that were about five times the Federal Aviation Administration regulatory limit of 0.04 gm/dL. At such concentrations, the pilot would likely have experienced degradation of judgment and deficits in coordination, psychomotor skills, perception, and attention. The student pilot’s toxicology results indicated that he was drinking alcohol before the time of the accident. The student pilot’s decision to maneuver the airplane at a low altitude while under the influence of alcohol caused the airplane to exceed its critical angle of attack and enter a stall, resulting in a loss of control from which the student pilot could not recover.

The airplane’s flaps-up stall speed was 70 to 72 knots with a 40° bank angle, and the flaps-up stall speed was 86 to 89 knots with a 60° bank angle. The flight instructor stated the accident airplane was “very responsive” to flight control inputs and that, during a stall, a wing would tend to “roll off abruptly.” On May 17, 2022, about 1751 central daylight time, an American Aviation AA-1A, N6409L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cleburne Regional Airport (CPT), Cleburne, Texas. The student pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. A review of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast data revealed that the airplane departed CPT about 1309 and flew to Clifton Municipal Airport (7F7), Clifton, Texas. The airplane departed 7F7 with a passenger and flew to Roger M. Dreyer Memorial Airport (T20), Gonzales, Texas, to drop off equipment for oil services. The airplane was refueled at T20 and flown back to 7F7, where the passenger disembarked. About 1734, the student pilot departed 7F7 to return to CPT. About 5 miles south of CPT, the airplane made a left turn at an altitude between 200 and 300 ft above ground level and flew to the west of the student pilot’s house toward a south heading (see figure 1) at a groundspeed of about 70 knots. The airplane subsequently turned to the right at the same altitude and flew to the west of the student pilot’s house toward a north heading at a groundspeed of about 90 knots. A witness observed the airplane in a rapid descent and heard it impact the ground. Figure 1. Flight track of accident flight. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s District, Fort Worth, Texas, performed an autopsy on the student pilot. His cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing performed by the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected ethanol in the student pilot’s blood at 0.145 gm/dL and in his vitreous fluid at 0.187 gm/dL. Ethanol is a social drug commonly consumed by drinking beer, wine, or liquor. Ethanol acts as a central nervous system depressant; it impairs judgment, psychomotor functioning, and vigilance. Effects of ethanol on aviators are generally well understood; it significantly impairs pilot performance, even at very low levels. Title 14 CFR 91.17(a) prohibits any person from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft “within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage” and “while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater in a blood or breath specimen.” The student pilot last flew with a flight instructor on October 17, 2021. The flight instructor stated the student pilot’s cross-country training was progressing well but that the student pilot was reluctant to take the private pilot written test. The flight instructor and student pilot parted ways toward the end of 2021. Thestudent pilot’s last training event entered in his logbook was dated November 22, 2021. The student pilot continued to record flight times in an informal maintenance log until the accident flight. The airplane impacted an open, grassy field in a rural area in a nose-down attitude and with minimal forward momentum. The airplane came to rest upright, with both wings crushed downward (see figure 2) and the engine partially separated forward of the main wreckage. Figure 2. Airplane at accident site. All flight control surfaces were accounted for at the accident site, and flight control continuity was confirmed for the elevator, ailerons, and rudder from their respective control surfaces to the flight deck. The flaps were in the retracted position. No evidence indicated any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. Six empty mini-sized alcohol bottles (about 1.5 ounces each) were found in the glove box of the airplane’s flight deck.