# NTSB ERA13LA136: Quicksilver MX2, Poplarville, MS, February 17, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 17, 2013, 15:30 local (21:30 UTC) - Place: Poplarville, MS - Coordinates: 30.828887, -89.51889 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.8289&lon=-89.5189&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report July 30, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FSDO/FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 86238 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA13LA136 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/86238/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86238 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13LA136 ## Probable cause The noncertificated pilot’s decision to make the flight and his failure to maintain clearance from trees while maneuvering at a low altitude. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: altitude](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,310 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Impairment/incapacitation: alcohol](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012015): Personnel issues › Physical · Pilot; cases with it: [All aircraft, 87 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012015/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063000): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 111 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063000/cases.md) - [Experience/qualifications: total experience](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 126 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: tree(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022020): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [All aircraft, 933 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022020/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: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The noncertificated pilot was conducting his first flight in the unregistered experimental airplane, which he purchased several months before the accident. No logbook entries were found indicating whether the pilot had previous flight experience. The pilot flew the airplane for about 30 minutes near his home before making a low pass over a field about 50 feet above ground level. Witnesses heard the engine power increase as the airplane approached a line of trees and then observed the left wing contact a tree top and the airplane subsequently impact the ground. A witness reported that the pilot had been consuming alcohol on the day of the accident. Results from toxicological testing indicated the presence of alcohol in the pilot's blood; however, the amount of ethanol detected in the blood was lower than the level that the Federal Aviation Administration has determined pilots may fly, although any amount of ethanol may be impairing. In addition, toxicological testing found narcotic pain medications in the pilot's urine and other tissues; however, none of these narcotics were found in the pilot's blood, which suggests that the pilot likely used narcotics several days before the accident. Therefore, the extent of the pilot's impairment due to use of alcohol and narcotic medications could not be determined. ## Factual narrative The single-engine experimental airplane was powered by a Rotax 582, 65hp, reciprocating engine. The airplane did not contain an FAA airworthiness certificate, and no maintenance logs could be located. On February 17, 2013, about 1530 central standard time, an unregistered experimental Quicksilver MX II airplane, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering near Poplarville, Mississippi. The non-certificated pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under the provisions of Title14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to acquaintances of the pilot, the accident flight was the pilot's first flight in the airplane after purchasing it several months prior. They stated that the pilot had been working on the airplane for about a month before the accident, and had recently been performing taxi tests around his residence, a mobile home park. On the day of the accident, a witness observed the pilot taxi the airplane several times around the mobile home park .The witness stated that the wind would "pick him up and then he would settle back down." This witness also reported that the pilot had been seen consuming alcohol on the day of the accident The pilot took off from a field next to the mobile home park and flew the airplane for about 30 minutes. He then turned the airplane to the west, where he made a low pass over a field, waved to onlookers, and continued towards a tree line. A witness reported the airplane was about level with the tops of the trees, which he estimated to be around 60 feet high. Witnesses observed the airplane's nose rise, and then heard the engine power increase. The left wing dropped and contacted a tree and the airplane subsequently impacted the ground. An FAA inspector observed a video of the accident flight filmed by an onlooker, and recounted the recorded sequence of events to the NTSB. He stated that the airplane passed onlookers at an estimated altitude of 50 feet above ground level. After reaching a tree line, the airplane's nose began to pitch up and the camera panned away. The engine could be heard increasing in power, and subsequently the sound of impact was heard. An autopsy was performed on February 19, 2013 by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office, Jackson, Mississippi. The cause of death was listed as, "multiple blunt trauma." Toxicological testing performed by the medical examiner's office revealed the presence of hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, caffeine, nicotine, and 0.03% ethyl alcohol in the blood. Toxicological testing was also performed on the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which revealed 0.009 (ug/mL, ug/g) of buprenorphine in the liver, and 39 (ug/ml, ug/g) of hydrocodone in the urine. Buprenorphine and hydrocodone are narcotic pain medications and aremarketed under the trade names Subutex and Vicodin, respectively. Testing also revealed 0.075 (ug/ml, ug/g) of oxymetazoline in the liver. Oxymetazoline is a nasal spray used for treating congestion, and is marketed under the trade name Afrin. Ethanol was detected in vitreous samples in a quan tity of 32 mg/dl. The 1550 recorded weather observation at Stennis International Airport, (HSA), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, located 25 miles south of the accident site, included wind from 160 degrees at 6 knots, 10 miles visibility, sky clear, temperature 14 degrees C, dew point -1 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.27 inches of mercury. The pilot, age 50, did not possess a valid FAA airman certificate or medical certificate. The pilot's girlfriend reported that she could not locate a logbook or other record of the pilot's flight experience. One of the witnesses stated that the pilot had taken flight lessons. Review of photographs provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the airplane came to rest inverted in a tilled garden surrounded by trees. The left wing remained intact, and the right wing was broken about mid-span. There was a chordwise tear in the cloth of the right wing about 3 feet in length. ## Aircraft - Registration: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: QUICKSILVER MX2 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: Unknown - Engines: Rotax 582 Model 90 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: None - Departed: Poplarville, MS - Destination: Poplarville, MS ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 50; injuries: fatal; seat: right; toxicology performed ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 30.27 inHg - Observed at: HSA, 171 nm away ## Docket (11 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 17, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86238. 33.7 MB in all. - Memorandum for Record (Logbooks) (item 1, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388952&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%20(Logbooks)-Master.PDF - Memorandum of Record (FAA Inspector) (item 2, .PDF, 122 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40413390&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Record%20(FAA%20Inspector)-Redacted.PDF - Memorandum of Record (Brad Haas) (item 3, .PDF, 91 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40413391&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Record%20(Brad%20Haas)-Master.PDF - Memorandum of Record (Joey Boyd) (item 4, .PDF, 90 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40413392&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Record%20(Joey%20Boyd)-Master.PDF - Memorandum for Record (Weather) (item 5, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40408103&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%20(Weather)%20-Master.PDF - Witness Statement (item 6, .PDF, 208 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40413396&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Witness%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Police Report (item 7, .PDF, 766 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407722&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Police%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Toxicological Report (item 8, .PDF, 127 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40390413&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicological%20Report-Master.PDF - Photograph #1: Front view of wreckage (Courtesy of FAA) (item 9, .PDF, 10.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388092&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%20%231%3A%20Front%20view%20of%20wreckage%20%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photograph #2: View of wreckage (Courtesy of FAA) (item 10, .PDF, 11.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388093&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%20%232%3A%20View%20of%20wreckage%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photograph #3: Left side view of wreckage (Courtesy of FAA) (item 11, .PDF, 9.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40388094&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%20%233%3A%20Left%20side%20view%20of%20wreckage%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.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.