Pilot Debrief

QUAD CITY CHALLENGER near Palmetto, FL — 2010-01-14

Final reportERA10LA119
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Date
2010-01-14
Location
Palmetto, FL, USA
Airport
48X
Aircraft
QUAD CITY CHALLENGER
Registration
UNREG
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Taxi

Probable cause

The non-certificated pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with the ground. Contributing to the accident was his impairment due to the prescription narcotic medication he was taking.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was his impairment due to the prescription narcotic medication he was taking.

NTSB narrative

According to the owner of the experimental amateur-built light sport airplane, the non-certificated accident pilot was planning to only taxi the airplane and not get airborne due to the wind conditions. The owner and several witnesses observed the airplane depart the runway and fly the prescribed runway traffic pattern. While on the base leg, the airplane began a steep bank with the nose entering a dive. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground behind a row of trees, with the engine continuing to operate at high power until ground impact. Postmortem toxicology testing was consistent with recent use of an impairing prescription narcotic medication, although the source of blood tested made it impossible to accurately estimate the time of the most recent use or the likelihood of impairment. The autopsy revealed that the pilot had an active hepatitis C infection with early evidence of liver cirrhosis. It is possible that the pilot was impaired by his recent narcotic use, by symptoms of chronic active hepatitis C infection, or by some other condition for which he was taking the prescription narcotic medication.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot should not have attempted to take off due to wind conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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