# NTSB WPR11LA044: Piper PA30, N628R, Tucson, AZ, November 10, 2010 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 10, 2010, 16:57 local (23:57 UTC) - Place: Tucson, AZ - Coordinates: 32.116111, -110.941108 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.1161&lon=-110.9411&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Medical event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/850) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 19, 2011 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 77775 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11LA044 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/77775/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=77775 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11LA044 ## Probable cause The pilot's impairment by an undiagnosed medical condition, which resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent collision with a building during the landing roll. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to fly when he was not feeling well. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-30, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=7103002), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Impairment/incapacitation: neurological](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012045): Personnel issues › Physical · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-30, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012045/cases.md?model=7103002), [All aircraft, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02012045/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-30, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=7103002), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Medical event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/850) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-30, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/850/sequence.md?model=7103002), [All aircraft, 63 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/850/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Piper PA-30, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=7103002), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Taxi-from runway: Ground collision](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200); cases with it: [Piper PA-30, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200/sequence.md?model=7103002), [All aircraft, 618 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he had a headache before the flight, that his thinking had been impaired all day, and that he was having trouble with his left-side motor skills. He flew a cross-country flight in order to accomplish a check ride, but during the oral examination his headache persisted so he canceled the remainder of the oral exam and the scheduled check ride. The pilot flew to his home base, and after landing he could not slow the airplane before reaching his intended taxiway, so he continued to the next taxiway. The airplane did not stop or turn when crossing the second taxiway and continued forward until it struck a light post with the right wing tip tank. Fuel began escaping as the airplane continued forward into a building's plate glass window. The pilot estimated that his speed at the point of contact was 5 mph, and he stated that he did not hit his head. Several hours after the accident, the pilot's wife noticed that he was shuffling his left foot, and he was still feeling the severe headache that he had at the start of the day. He went to a hospital that night for examination where medical personnel discovered a subdural hematoma and performed immediate surgery to remove blood from his brain. It is likely that the pilot was neurologically impaired during the flight and thus unable to manipulate the rudder control and brakes to maneuver during taxi to avoid the collision with the building. ## Factual narrative On November 10, 2010, about 1657 mountain standard time, a Piper PA30, N628R, collided with a light post and a building during taxi after landing at Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Arizona. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The airline transport pilot with a certified flight instructor (CFI) certificate was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The cross-country personal flight departed Stellar Airpark, Phoenix, Arizona, at 1520, with a planned destination of Tucson. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot reported that his thinking had been impaired all day. He had a severe headache, and he was having trouble with his left side motor skills. The pilot flew from Tucson to Phoenix earlier in the day to complete a flight check for his CFI renewal. Due to the headache he was experiencing, he terminated the check ride during the oral examination. The pilot returned to Tucson, and landed on runway 11L. He could not slow the airplane down by taxiway A11, so he continued to taxiway A13. He was unable to stop the airplane prior to crossing taxiway A or execute a left turn. The airplane continued forward until it struck the Fire Department warning light post with the right wing tip tank. Fuel began escaping as the airplane continued forward into the Fire Department's plate glass window. The pilot estimated that his speed at the point of contact was 5 miles per hour, and he stated that he did not hit his head. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane. Several hours after the accident, the pilot's wife noticed that he was shuffling his left foot. He stated that he was still feeling the severe headache that he had at the start of the day. He went to a hospital that night for examination. Medical personnel discovered a subdural hematoma and they performed immediate surgery to remove blood from his brain. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N628R](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N628R-2017-03-06), registration cancelled 2017-03-06, S/N 30-595, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA30 - Registry model: [Piper PA-30](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-30) (registry code 7103002) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (registry code 41509, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 30-595 - Airframe hours: 8149 - Engines: Textron Lycoming IO-320-B1A 160 horsepower reciprocating; Textron Lycoming IO-320-B1A 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Phillip Secker Jr - Registered owner: Phillip Secker Jr - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 1, 2010, 5 hours before - Departed: P19, Chandler, AZ - Destination: TUS, Tucson, AZ - Airport: TUS, Tucson International, runway 11L, 10,996 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 70; injuries: none; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 7, 2009; seat: left; flight hours: 7,264 total, 1,169 in this make and model, 7 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 250° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 12 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg - Observed at: KTUS ## 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 20101110051009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20101110051009A), Nov 10, 2010: Piper PA-30, Tucson, AZ, Substantial damage. 11-10-10. Ineffective braking after landing on runway 11L at Tucson intl and lost braking and directional control after exiting at intersection A13. Aircraft… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 1, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=77775. 331 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 331 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40352623&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.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.