# NTSB LAX01LA286: Cessna 172L, N4312Q, Tucson, AZ, September 16, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 16, 2001, 07:45 local (14:45 UTC) - Place: Tucson, AZ - Coordinates: 32.116664, -110.916664 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.1167&lon=-110.9167&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report April 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 53088 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX01LA286 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53088/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA286 ## Probable cause the pilot's controlled descent into a residence for undetermined reasons. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, descent - object - residence - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) ## Analysis The airplane entered a dive and impacted a residence during what witnesses reported was a controlled descent. A post crash fire consumed the airplane. The airplane departed a private airpark during a time following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when VFR general aviation flights were prohibited. The airplane was observed entering a nosedive until it disappeared behind a tree line. The local authorities were told the pilot was having problems with his personal life. The pilot's wife told the local authorities that the pilot had never flown the accident airplane before, and that the airplane hadn't been flown for 5 years. Toxicological tests of samples from the pilot tested positive for prescription antidepressant medications. While the sheriff's department found evidence that the pilot had threatened suicide in the past, neither they nor the medical examiner found evidence to support a suicide by the pilot, and ruled the death as accidental. ## Factual narrative On September 16, 2001, about 0745 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172L single engine airplane, N4312Q, was destroyed during the collision with, and subsequent fire, a residence at Tucson, Arizona. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, received fatal injuries; no one on the ground was injured. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. The flight originated at La Cholla Airpark, a private uncontrolled residential airport, about 0715. The accident occurred 5 days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and during the period when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibited general aviation visual flight rule (VFR) flights under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91.139; Emergency Air Traffic Rules. After departure, the airplane was identified by the Tucson Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). TRACON transmitted on a sector frequency in the blind advising the airplane to return to the point of departure; at that time the airplane's transponder was squawking 1233. There was no response from the airplane, but it subsequently reversed course and the transponder code was changed to 1203. The last altitude observed by TRACON was 3,500 feet msl. According to the Pima County Sheriff's Department report, a sergeant from the sheriff's department observed the airplane flying from the south to the north, and "seemed to be turning directly into the ground. He observed the airplane in a "deep dive," with the nose of the airplane headed "down towards the ground." The sergeant lost sight of the airplane when it disappeared behind a tree line. The sergeant then noted smoke emanating form the area where the airplane was last seen. The sergeant activated his emergency equipment and responded to the accident site. He found the airplane sticking out of the side of a garage of a residence. Fire consumed the garage and airplane. The sheriff's department personnel contacted personnel at the La Cholla Airpark and were told the pilot was having some personal problems. The pilot's wife told sheriff department personnel that the airplane had not flown in 5 years and her husband had never flown the airplane before. The private pilot held a third-class medical certificate that was issued on April 26, 2000, with a limitation to have glasses available for near vision. An autopsy was conducted on the pilot by a forensic pathologist for the Pima County Sheriff's Department, and it was determined the pilot died as a result of the injuries sustained during the impact with the house. According to the forensic pathologist that conducted the autopsy, while the pilot "had threatened suicide in the past," no evidence existed to form the conclusion that pilot intended suicide during the accident flight. The Pima County Sheriff's Department listed the cause of death as accidental due to an airplane crash. Toxicology tests conducted on the pilot revealed he tested positive for the following: 63 mg/dL ethanol detected in kidney 128 mg/dL ethanol detected in muscle 8 mg/dL acetaldehyde detected in kidney 13 mg/dL acetaldehyde detected in muscle 1 mg/dL n-butanol detected in muscle 1 mg/dL n-propanol detected in muscle The following were not given a quantity. Fluoxetine in liver Norfluoxetine in liver Norfluoxetine in muscle Nordiazepam in liver Nordiazepam in kidney Oxazepam in kidney Verapamil in liver Verapamil in muscle Norverapamil in liver Norverapamil in muscle According to the toxicological report, the ethanol found "may potentially be from postmortem ethanol formation and not from ingestion of ethanol." Fluoxetine is an antidepressant medication, and Nordiazepam is an antidepressant/antianxiety drug. Verapamil is a high blood pressure medication. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4312Q](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4312Q-2002-01-14), registration cancelled 2002-01-14, S/N 17260212, built 1971 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172L - Registry model: [Cessna 172L](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172l) (registry code 2072432) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17260212 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-E2D 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: James K. Waddill - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: 40E, Tucson, AZ - Destination: UNKNOWN ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 64; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, expired; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 300 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: TUS ## 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 20010916024729A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010916024729A), Sep 16, 2001: Cessna 172L, Tucson, AZ, No damage. (.19) On September 16, 2001, about 0745 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172L, N4312Q, operated by the pilot, was destroyed during collision and… 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.