ERA25LA023

A passerby saw the powered parachute wreckage in a field. No eyewitnesses to the accident were identified, and no video of the accident was obtained. Both the pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The passerby observed the parachute uphill from the cart, which was on its right side. He later noted that the day was “beautiful,” with light wind conditions and minimal cloud cover. The aircraft’s initial impact point was about 160 ft downhill from a turf runway that had been cut into a hay field. The aircraft’s cart came to rest about 30 ft past the initial impact point. The nose portion, including the nose landing gear and front seat, was bent upward by the impact. The parachute’s risers were not frayed or damaged and there were no missing panels or damage to the canopy. The engine remained attached to the cart and was leaking fuel from the fuel line when first responders arrived at the scene. All three propeller blades were impact-fractured about a third of the way out from the root and contained organic debris and dirt; the blade damage and debris were consistent with the engine being under power at the time of the accident. The aircraft’s location in relation to the runway, nose-low impact signatures, and indications of engine power production are consistent with the pilot losing control of the aircraft while in the airport’s traffic pattern. Although a pilot logbook and flight diary were found, the last total time listed for the pilot was in July 2011 and the last entry in the flight diary was in September 2016. Accordingly, the investigation was unable to determine the pilot’s currency or recent flight experience. The last condition inspection of the powered parachute was completed in October 2015 and did not have a total time listed. The passerby who discovered the wreckage, and who knew the pilot, reported that the pilot performed his own maintenance. Due to the lack of records, the investigation was unable to determine the last time maintenance work was performed on the aircraft. The pilot’s autopsy identified evidence of cardiovascular disease, which is associated with increased risk of a sudden impairing or incapacitating cardiovascular event, such as arrhythmia, heart attack, chest pain, or stroke. There was no autopsy evidence that such an event occurred, although such an event does not leave reliable autopsy evidence if it occurs just before death. The pilot’s postmortem toxicological testing detected ethanol in blood but did not detect ethanol in urine or vitreous fluid. The results indicate that the detected ethanol was likely from postmortem sources rather than alcohol consumption.

On October 27, 2024, about 1751 eastern daylight time, a Buckeye Dream Machine powered parachute, N75331, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Nicholasville, Kentucky. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The powered parachute was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The powered parachute impacted the ground about 160 ft northeast and downhill of a private grass landing strip. The wreckage came to rest on its right side about 30 ft past the initial ground impact. There was no postaccident fire. The initial 911 caller reported that he was driving past the accident site when he saw the wreckage laying in the field. Upon approaching the scene, he reported that the parachute was uphill from the cart. He then checked for a pulse on the passenger and found that they had no pulse and were cool to the touch. In an interview, he reported that he had a sport pilot certificate and had about 226 hours flying powered parachutes since 2012. When asked about the weather the day of the accident he reported that the weather was “beautiful,” that the steam from a local powerplant was “straight up,” and that there were “hardly any clouds.” He noted that he had flown the accident aircraft previously and that the pilot performed all of his own maintenance on the aircraft. No eyewitnesses to the accident were identified. The aircraft cart’s frame exhibited impact damage. The nose landing gear and front seat were buckled upward. Both main landing gear remained attached to the cart and were undamaged. The parachute risers were not frayed or damaged. There were no missing panels or damage to the parachute canopy. The engine remained attached to the cart. The air inlet filter was free of debris. All four sparkplug leads remained attached to their respective sparkplugs. The in-line fuel filter contained fuel. First responders reported that upon arrival fuel was leaking from the powered parachute. All three composite propellers were impact-fractured about a third of the way out from the hub. All propeller blades had dirt and organic debris with rotational scoring, consistent with engine power at the time of impact. Maintenance logbooks were recovered from the pilot’s trailer at the accident site. The last entry was from April 30, 2016, during which all fuel lines were replaced and a new battery was installed. The last condition inspection found in the logbook was dated October 30, 2015. The pilot’s logbook and flight diary were also recovered from the trailer at the accident site. The logbook contained flights from 2008 to 2011, with the last entry on July 30, 2011. The final page showed a total time in all classes of 239.8 hours, and pilot in command time of 219.3 hours. The flight diary began on October 10, 2013, and stated the total time on the machine was 448.7 hours; the investigation was unable to establish if this was the pilot’s flight time or the aircraft’s total time. The last entrythat contained a total time was on January 19, 2015, and showed a machine total time of 495.6. The last entry in the flight diary was on September 22, 2016. The Kentucky Office of the State Medical Examiner performed the pilot’s autopsy. According to the autopsy report, the pilot’s cause of death was blunt force injuries, and his manner of death was accident. The autopsy identified evidence of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, including up to 50% narrowing of the coronary arteries by plaque, a thickened left heart ventricle, kidney tissue changes of the type seen with chronic high blood pressure, and severe calcific ulcerated plaque of the aorta. At the request of the Office of the State Medical Examiner, Axis Forensic Toxicology performed toxicological testing of postmortem specimens from the pilot. This testing detected ethanol at 0.056 g/dL in subclavian blood and did not detect ethanol in vitreous fluid. The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory also performed toxicological testing of postmortem specimens from the pilot. This testing detected ethanol at 0.105 g/dL in blood and did not detect ethanol in vitreous fluid or urine. Ethanol is the intoxicating alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, and, if consumed, can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. FAA regulation imposes strict limits on flying after consuming ethanol, including a prohibition on piloting a civil aircraft while having a blood ethanol level of 0.04 g/dL or greater. Alcohol consumption is not the only possible source of ethanol in postmortem specimens. Ethanol sometimes may be produced by microbes in a person’s body tissues and fluids after death, potentially elevating ethanol levels in some postmortem specimens but not others. Vitreous fluid and urine generally are less susceptible to postmortem ethanol production than are other specimen types.