# NTSB CEN23FA155: Junior Ace, N5545, Mammoth Springs, AR, April 13, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report - Date: April 13, 2023, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Mammoth Springs, AR · Rock Quarry - Coordinates: 36.387068, -91.489419 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3871&lon=-91.4894&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Lycoming Engines, FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 107053 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN23FA155 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/107053/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=107053 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA155 ## Probable cause The pilot’s intentional flight into terrain as an act of suicide. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Intentional act: suicide](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015): Personnel issues › Miscellaneous · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Edwin Stafford JR ACE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md?model=05634HG), [All aircraft, 23 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) (defining event); cases with it: [Edwin Stafford JR ACE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md?model=05634HG), [All aircraft, 780 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md) ## Analysis The airplane, which was owned by the pilot, took off from a private airstrip and flew to a rock quarry. Witnesses saw the airplane circle around the quarry several times. One witness saw the airplane fly directly into the quarry and collide with a rock wall. The wreckage was located directly below and adjacent to a 75-ft rock wall. The damage to the wreckage was consistent with a high-energy impact. Examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation. Postmortem toxicological testing detected ethanol at 0.048 g/dl, along with n-propanol, in the blood cavity. Neither ethanol nor n-propanol was detected in vitreous fluid. Detection of n-propanol in a postmortem specimen is potentially indicative of postmortem microbial activity in the specimen but does not necessarily mean that microbial activity produced ethanol. These findings suggest that the ethanol detected was likely from postmortem production, not alcohol consumption. Following a death investigation, local law enforcement and the local the coroner classified the manner of death as a suicide. ## Factual narrative On April 13, 2023, about 1330 central daylight time, a Junior Ace airplane, N5545, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Mammoth Springs, Arkansas. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated from the owner/pilot’s private airstrip in Ash Flat, Arkansas. The airstrip was about 16 miles from the accident location. Witnesses near the accident site reported that they observed the airplane circle over a rock quarry near Mammoth Springs. One witness observed the airplane dive into the quarry on its final pass and collide with a vertical rock wall. The accident site was in a rock quarry. Examination of the accident site showed that the airplane collided with the 75-ft rock wall. Impact marks showed that the airplane impacted the wall about 20 ft below the top of the wall. See Figure 1. Figure 1. Accident Site The damage to the airplane was consistent with a high-energy impact. Examinations of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, Little Rock, Arkansas, performed the pilot’s autopsy. According to the pilot’s autopsy report, his cause of death was multiple injuries, and his manner of death was suicide. Toxicological testing by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, detected ethanol at 0.048g/dl, along with n-propanol, in cavity blood. Neither ethanol nor n-propanol was detected in vitreous fluid. Ethanol is the intoxicating alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, and, if consumed, can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. Alcohol consumption is not the only possible source of ethanol in postmortem specimens. Ethanol may sometimes be produced by microbes in a person’s body after death, potentially elevating ethanol levels in some postmortem specimens but not others. Vitreous fluid is generally the specimen type best protected against postmortem microbial ethanol production. N-propanol can be produced by microbes in a person’s body after death. Detection of n-propanol in a postmortem specimen is potentially indicative of postmortem microbial activity in the specimen but does not necessarily mean that microbial activity produced ethanol. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5545](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5545), registered now, S/N 7792, built 2015 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Junior Ace - Registry model: [Edwin Stafford JR ACE](https://openairdocs.org/model/edwin-stafford-jr-ace) (registry code 05634HG) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 7792 - Year built: 2015 - Engines: Lycoming O-235-C1 185 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental light sport (Special) - Departed: Ash Flat, AR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 67; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: basicmed; seat: single; restraint: 3-point; toxicology performed; flight hours: 1,000 total, 200 in this make and model, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 29.91 inHg - Observed at: KUNO, 36 nm away - METAR: KUNO 131753Z AUTO 18005KT 10SM CLR 22/03 A2991 RMK AO2 ## 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 20230413003249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230413003249A), Apr 13, 2023: Edwin Stafford JR ACE, Mammoth Springs, AR, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Aircraft departed a private air strip at approximately 1300 CST, and at approximately 1330 CST, the aircraft was observed flying into an abandoned rock quarry… ## Docket (7 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 13, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=107053. 7.5 MB in all. - Memorandum for the record accident site and wreckage examination CEN23FA155 (item 1, PDF, 2 pages, 340 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18138985&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20the%20Record%20Accident%20Site%20and%20Wreckage%20Examination%20CEN23FA155_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Witness statements CEN23FA155 (item 2, PDF, 6 pages, 5.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18150260&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Witness%20Statements%20CEN23FA155_Redacted-Rel.pdf - NTSB medical factual memo CEN23FA155 (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 139 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18138821&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Medical%20Factual%20Memo%20CEN23FA155-Rel.pdf - Investigation photographs CEN23FA155 (item 4, PDF, 3 pages, 1.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18139204&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigation%20Photographs%20CEN23FA155-Rel.pdf - Toxicology report CEN23FA155 (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 101 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18139214&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Toxicology%20Report%20CEN23FA155_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for the record wrecakge disposition CEN23FA155 (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 102 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18138831&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20the%20Record%20Wrecakge%20Disposition%20CEN23FA155_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Approximate distance from departure point to accident site CEN23FA155 (item 7, PDF, 1 page, 184 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18139194&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Approximate%20Distance%20from%20Departure%20Point%20to%20Accident%20Site%20CEN23FA155-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.