LAX94LA080

The recently certificated private pilot was on a local flight with a passenger on christmas day in a mountainous area. Witnesses observed the Cessna 150 approaching a summit, while flying low & slow in a nose high attitude. One witness stated that the airplane pitched up near some power lines & descended into trees. Two other witnesses observed the airplane & heard the engine, which they indicated was at a high power setting. They stated the airplane barely missed some trees, & after clearing some power lines, it hit a tall fir tree. Elevation of the accident site was estimated to be 7300' MSL. Toxicology checks of the pilot's blood showed 0.015 ug/ml of morphine, 0.018 ug/ml of chlorpheniramine, 0.020 ug/ml of doxylamine. Tests of his urine showed 0.171 ug/ml of morphine & detectable levels of chlorpheniramine & doxylamine. Also, the pilot tested positive for pseudoephedrine & ibuprofen. A family member stated the pilot had recovered from a recent flu-like illness.

On December 25, 1993, at 1350 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 150G, N4813X, was destroyed during a collision sequence with trees and terrain in a mountainous area near Truckee, California. The pilot and his passenger both received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight which originated at Truckee airport about 1340 hours.

Witnesses observed the airplane near Brockway Summit and Highway 267 flying low and slow with a nose-high attitude. One witness stated that he observed the airplane pitch up in the vicinity of some power lines and trees near the top of the summit, then it went down.

Two witnesses were at Brockway Summit on the west side of Highway 267 when they heard an airplane sound. They said that the engine sounded as though it was "straining." They saw the airplane flying in a general southeast direction from the Truckee area towards Lake Tahoe. They reported that the plane barely cleared the trees on the west side of the highway. They stated that the plane cleared the power lines on the east side of the summit, but then struck a tall fir tree.

The pilot and another passenger had flown from Auburn, California, to Truckee on the morning of the accident to spend the Christmas day with friends and relatives. The pilot had offered rides in the plane to members of the gathering.

Personnel information

The pilot was issued a private pilot certificate for single- engine land airplanes on July 30, 1993. At that time, he reported a total flight time of 55.6 hours. According to the airman certificate application, his third-class medical certificate was issued on October 30, 1992.

On August 15 and 18, 1994, a telephone interview was conducted with a relative of the pilot. According to the relative, the pilot had been sick in bed with what was thought to be the flu for about a week just prior to the accident. Two days before the accident he was feeling better and the day before the accident the pilot was well, according to the relative.

Aircraft information

The airplane, a Cessna 150, was manufactured as a 1967 year model. According to the last annual inspection conducted on January 1, 1993, the airplane had accumulated about 5,769 total flight hours. The last documented service was a 50-hour inspection conducted on August 26, 1993, at a total flight time of 5,869 hours.

On January 5, 1994, a postcrash examination was conducted on the airframe and the engine at Sacramento, California, and again on February 15, 1994. No evidence of failure or malfunction of the airplane, the engine, or their systems was found.

Wreckage and impact information

The wreckage was located in the Brockway Summit area of the Tahoe National Forest at an estimated elevation of 7,300 feet msl. The airplane was found at the base of several clustered pine trees about 40 yards east of the power line. A postcrash fire had consumed the airplane center section and portions of the wings.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector on scene, the airplane had descended through the trees at an estimated angle of 45 degrees on a track of about 120 degrees.

Medical and pathological information

On December 26, 1993, the Placer County medical examiner performed an autopsy on the pilot. During the course of the autopsy, samples were obtained from the pilot for toxicological analysis by the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The results were positive for the drugs morphine, chlorpheniramine, doxylamine, pseudoephedrine, and ibuprofen. According to the manager of the CAMI toxicology laboratory, the substances were found at therapuetic levels. The toxicology report is attached to this report.

Additional information

On February 22, 1994, the wreckage was released to the insurance company representative.