# NTSB WPR13LA420: Miller RV6, N67GM, Williams, CA, September 24, 2013

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: September 23, 2013, 18:57 local (Sep 24, 2013, 01:57 UTC)
- Place: Williams, CA
- Coordinates: 39.11111, -122.311111
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1111&lon=-122.3111&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Completed, report June 9, 2015
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: FAA - FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 88114
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR13LA420
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88114/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88114
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13LA420

## Probable cause

The pilot's improper decision to fly at a low altitude, which resulted in his failure to maintain clearance from power lines.

## 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: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 1,310 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md)
- [Attention/monitoring: monitoring environment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545): Personnel issues › Psychological · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545/cases.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545/cases.md)
- [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md)
- [Object/animal/substance: wire](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Awareness of condition (probable cause); cases with it: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 588 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md)
- [Info processing/decision: identification/recognition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 559 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md)
- [Health/Fitness: use of medication/drugs](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02013020): Personnel issues › Physical · Pilot; cases with it: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02013020/cases.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 73 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02013020/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: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)
- [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) (defining event); cases with it: [Miller Gary RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md?model=0560687), [All aircraft, 780 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md)

## Analysis

Witnesses reported observing the airplane traveling very low and fast over the terrain. They then saw the airplane disappear behind a hill, followed by rising black smoke. During the postaccident on-site examination, the lowest wire of a high-tension power line that crossed over a shallow valley was found broken, and a fragment of the airplane's wing was found hanging from the next higher power line. The main wreckage was located 300 yards north of the power lines, and a postcrash fire had ensued. Toxicological testing detected ethanol in the pilot's tissues; however, the ethanol distribution was not consistent with ingestion and likely resulted from postmortem sources. The testing also detected the opioid medications tramadol and hydrocodone in the pilot's urine, indicating that he had used the medications at some time before the accident. The low level of tramadol in the blood indicates that the pilot was unlikely impaired by it at the time of the accident; however, there was insufficient evidence to determine if he was impaired by the hydrocodone at the time of the accident.

## Factual narrative

On September 23, 2013, at 1857 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Miller RV-6A, N67GM, collided with high tension power lines and then impacted terrain, 9 miles west of Williams, California. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the private pilot under the provision of 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated at Willows-Glenn Country Airport, Willows, California.A witness reported seeing the airplane traveling very low and fast heading to the north. The airplane disappeared behind a hill and then he saw black smoke rising from behind the hill. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the scene reported that the lowest wire of a high tension power line that passed over a shallow valley was broken and a fragment of the airplane was hanging from the next higher power line. The main wreckage was located 300 yards north of the power lines, and had been subjected to a post-crash fire. The pilot, age 63, held a private pilot certificate for airplane single engine land issued December 18, 2004, and a third-class airman medical certificate issued January 22, 2007, with the waiver that the pilot possess glasses for near vision. The pilot's logbook was not located for examination. On the pilot's January 22, 2007, application for his medical certificate, he reported having 1,000 flight hours, and active medical conditions that included high blood pressure and elevated lipids. His medications included metoprolol (a medication used to treat high blood pressure marketed as Toprol), and atorvastatin (a lipid lowering medication marketed as Lipitor). The experimental category, two-seat, low-wing, fixed tricycle gear airplane, serial number 60149, was manufactured in 2001, by Mr Gary Miller. It was powered by a Lycoming O-320 150-hp engine equipped with a Sensenich fixed pitch propeller. Aircraft records showed that the most recent engine and airframe conditional inspection was performed on July 9, 2013, at 744.8 hours total time. An autopsy was performed on the pilot on September 23, 2013, by Forensic Medical Group, Inc, as authorized by Colusa County Sheriff's Office. The listed cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) performed toxicology on specimens from the pilot with positive results for ethanol, acetaminophen, hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, hydromorphone, metoprolol in the urine, and metoprolol in muscle. Ethanol is primarily a social drug with a powerful central nervous system depressant, it may also be produced in the body after death by microbial activity. Acetaminophen is an analgesic commonly marketed as Tylenol. Hydrocodone is a controlled substance known to be sedating and typically prescribed to treat severe pain, marketed under various names including Vicodin and Histinex. It carries thewarning – "may impair mental and/or physical ability required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks (e.g., driving, operating heavy machinery). Hydrocodone is broken down by the body into dihydrocodeine and hydromorphone. The blood was unsuitable for analysis of hydrocodone or hydromorphone but no dihydrocodeine was detected in the blood. In addition, tramadol was detected in the liver (0.09 ug/g) and blood but blood levels were below the laboratory's quantitative cut off. Tramadol is an opioid pain medication marketed under the trade name Ultram. It carries the warning - may impair mental and/or physical ability required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks (e.g., driving, operating heavy machinery).

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N67GM](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N67GM-2017-10-24), registration cancelled 2017-10-24, S/N 60149, built 2001 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MILLER RV6 (A)
- Registry model: [Miller Gary RV6A](https://openairdocs.org/model/miller-gary-rv6a) (registry code 0560687) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 60149
- Year built: 2001
- Engines: LYCOMING O-320 SERIES 150 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Destroyed
- Fire: On-Ground
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Baber Lester C
- Registered owner: Baber Lester C
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection: Condition, July 9, 2013, 745 hours before
- Departed: KWLW, Willows-Glenn, CA
- Destination: KWLW, Willows-Glenn, CA
- Equipment: Angle of attack indicator

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 63; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; toxicology performed; flight hours: 1,000 total

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 150° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observed at: KMYV, 27 nm away

## 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 20130923021489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130923021489A), Sep 23, 2013: Miller Gary RV6A, Willams, CA, Destroyed, 1 fatal. N67GM, a Miller Gary RV-6A airplane, crashed near williams, CA, on September 23, 2013, at about 1857 pacific daylight time (PDT), after it collided with…

## Docket (7 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 7, 2015, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88114. 5.7 MB in all.

- Record of Conversations - Witness Interview Summaries (item 1, .PDF, 209 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426024&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversations%20-%20Witness%20Interview%20Summaries-Redacted.PDF
- Colusa County Sheriff's Report (item 2, .PDF, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426025&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Colusa%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Report-Redacted.PDF
- Wreckage Diagrams (item 3, .PDF, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426027&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Wreckage%20Diagrams-Master.PDF
- Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 4, .PDF, 373 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426031&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF
- Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 (item 5, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426032&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Release%20of%20Aircraft%20Wreckage,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.15-Redacted.PDF
- Toxicology Report (item 6, .PDF, 126 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426029&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicology%20Report-Master.PDF
- Photo 1 - Wreckage (Photo Courtesy of FAA) (item 7, .PDF, 2.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40426026&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20-%20Wreckage%20(Photo%20Courtesy%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.

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