WPR23FA287

A witness observed, and surveillance video verified, that the airplane took off and then entered a nose-high climb before the left wing dropped and the airplane entered a spin. The airplane disappeared from view as it dropped behind hangars. The witness estimated the airplane’s angle of attack between 30° to 45° nose high. He observed the airplane’s nose drop and the left wing lose lift before the airplane transitioned into a nose-low spin. The witness stated that it sounded like the engine was making full power the whole time and the flaps appeared to be retracted. Postaccident examination of the accident site showed that the airplane clipped the hangar roof before coming to rest on the ground at the hangar entrance. The majority of the airplane was thermally destroyed in the postcrash fire. Autopsy results indicated that the pilot, who did not hold a current medical certificate at the time of the accident, had heart disease that conveyed at least a mildly increased risk of a sudden impairing or incapacitating cardiac event. There is no autopsy evidence that such an event occurred. However, such an event does not leave reliable autopsy evidence if it occurs immediately before death; whether the pilot’s heart disease contributed to the accident could not be determined. Toxicology testing revealed the presence of ethanol at a very low level in the pilot’s brain tissue; the detected ethanol was likely from postmortem production. Thus, it is unlikely that ethanol contributed to the crash. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Impact signatures on the propeller indicated the engine was likely operating at the time of impact. The high angle of attack observed by the witness and on the airport surveillance video likely resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with the building.

The airplane’s logbooks were not available for review. Family members of the pilot reported that the airplane logbooks were likely onboard the airplane at the time of the accident. An FAA inspector canvassed local businesses at the airport, as well as two travel mechanics, seeking information as to whether they had worked on the airplane. None had performed maintenance on it. On July 30, 2023, about 0640 Pacific daylight time, a Beech P35, N8572M, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Upland, California. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. A witness located on the northeast side of runway 24 at Cable Airport (CCB), Upland, California, reported that he observed the airplane in a nose-high profile during the takeoff initial climb. He stated that the airplane was between 300 - 400 ft above ground level (agl) when he saw the left wing drop and the airplane enter a nosedive before he lost sight of it behind a row of hangars. He further reported that he heard the engine, and it sounded to be at full power on takeoff and that the flaps looked like they were in the retracted position. Airport surveillance video showed the airplane as it entered runway 24 as well as the nose-high takeoff. The video further showed the left wing drop, followed by the airplane entering a nose-low attitude. The airplane struck a hangar on the south side of the runway and came to rest on the ground at the hangar entrance, and a postcrash fire ensued. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the San Bernardino County Coroner, San Bernardino, California. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, instantaneous, and the manner of death was an accident. The report described his major coronary arteries as calcified without atherosclerosis. The left ventricle and interventricular septum of his heart were thickened. The remainder of the autopsy, including visual examination of the heart, did not identify other significant natural disease. Toxicology testing performed at the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Branch, found 12 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ethanol in the pilot’s brain tissue. Losartan was detected in the liver and muscle. Losartan is a prescription medication commonly used to treat high blood pressure. It is generally not considered impairing. Ethanol is the intoxicating alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, and, if consumed, can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. 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 after death. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and reported 175 hours of flight experience on his most recent airman medical application, on September 27, 2007,with 50 of those hours in the 6 months before the application. He was issued a third-class medical certificate without limitation. That medical certificate subsequently expired; he did not hold a current medical certificate at the time of the accident. No further information about the pilot’s flight experience was available. Postaccident examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane came to rest inverted on a southerly heading at the base of a hangar. The left wing separated and came to rest on the hangar roof. The firewall and nose landing gear came to rest embedded in the door frame of the hangar. The farthest piece of debris was the nose landing gear, which was located inside the hangar, and a portion of the left wing on the hangar roof, both of which were about 80 ft from the main wreckage. The engine separated and came to rest about 20 ft west of the main wreckage. The fuselage was thermally destroyed, exposing all flight control cables. Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. Most of the flight control cables and hardware remained intact. However, the elevator bellcrank/control arm and associated hardware, the elevator down cable continuity hardware, the left wing bellcrank, and the left aileron direct cable had separated, with signatures consistent with impact damage and overload. The tail section was inverted and separated from the fuselage but remained in its relative normal position. The elevator trim actuator was measured in the neutral position. The left flap actuator was found in a position equating to being retracted; no such determination could be made for the right flap. The fuel selector valve was in the OFF position. Manual movement of the fuel selector to the LEFT and RIGHT positions was normal and without binding. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed that it had separated from the engine mounts. The oil sump pan had fractured open, exposing the interior of the engine case. The oil sump pan was removed, exposing the crankshaft and connecting rods and camshaft, which were all intact. The Nos. 5 and 6 cylinders, as well as the front of the engine/propeller hub assembly, were impact damage. The top spark plugs were removed and exhibited signatures consistent with normal wear and operating signatures. Both magnetos had separated from their respective mounting pads. Manual rotation of the magnetos produced spark at all posts. The ignition harness was damaged; the leads to the magneto remained attached; however, seven of the ignition leads had separated from the spark plugs. The propeller hub was broken, with a portion of it remaining attached to the crankshaft, and another portion embedded in the hangar door. Both propeller blades separated from the propeller hub. One propeller blade was located inside the hangar on the floor at foot of a movable helicopter platform. The propeller blade had leading and trailing edge nicks and gouges, chordwise scratching, andS-bending. The other propeller blade was in the main wreckage and had sustained fire damage. Leading edge nicks and gouges were identified, and the blade was curled at the tip.