NTSB Factual Report

On April 4, 2009, at about 1247 central daylight time, a Champion 7HC, N8560E collided into a private home near the Centre Municipal Airport, Centre, Alabama. The private pilot was killed, and the airplane was substantially damaged by post-crash fire. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.

According to witnesses, the airplane was departing from the runway, climbed to approximately 20 to 50 feet, and made a hard left bank. The airplane then struck power lines, trees, and crashed into a house. The airplane erupted in flames and the pilot was observed lying outside of the airplane.

The pilot, age 52, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and sea. His certificate was issued on July 2, 2003. The pilot's last medical examination was on July 4, 2007, for a third-class medical certificate with limitations for corrective lenses. The pilot reported 2,150 flight hours on his last medical application.

The two seat, high-wing, fixed gear airplane that was manufactured in 1959. It was powered by a Lycoming O-290 140-hp engine and equipped with a two-bladed Sensenich propeller. Review of the aircraft logbook pages revealed that the last annual inspection was conducted on December 19, 2008, at a total time of 2,013.95 hours.

Examination of the wreckage by an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane travel approximately 1,000 feet down the runway before becoming airborne and colliding with the house adjacent the runway. The fabric that covered the airframe was consumed by fire. The remainder of the fuselage was melted, and exhibited impact damage. Examination of the flight control system revealed that the airplane was equipped with a push pull tube rudder control system. The right rudder pedal control tube was missing the rod attachment bolt, retainer nut, and cotter pin. The examination of the engine and system components by the FAA inspector revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction. Review of the logbooks did not reveal any maintenance of the rudder control system. In a telephone conversation with the airplane manufacturer, American Champion, they stated that this model airplane did not come from the factory with a push pull tube rudder system. The system installed in the airplane was a cable type system, and that operators sometimes change this. Review of the logbooks did not reveal this alteration.

An autopsy was performed on the private pilot on April 7, 2009, by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, Huntsville, Alabama, as authorized by the coroner of Cherokee County; the cause of death was reported as “94% total body surface burns".

Forensic toxicology was performed on specimens from the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The toxicology report stated no ethanol was detected in vitreous, and no cyanide was detected in blood. Diphenhydramine was detected in the liver; 0.05 (ug/ml, ug/g) of diphenhydramine was detected in blood; 34 (ng/mL, ng/g) of fentanyl was detected in the liver; 12 (ng/mL, ng/g) of fentanyl was detected in blood; 0.94 (ug/mL, ug/g) of lorazepam was detected in the liver; 0.175 (ug/mL, ug/g) of lorazepam was detected in blood; 0.223 (ug/mL, ug/g) of midazolam was detected in the liver; 0.011 (ug/mL, ug/g) of midazolam was detected in blood; 0.385 (ug/ml, ug/g) of morphine was detected in the kidney; and 0.02 (ug/ml, ug/g) of morphine was detected in blood. According to the Chief Investigator of Cherokee County, Alabama, the medications found in the FAA toxicology report were administered in a clinical setting and are consistent with the injuries described in the autopsy report.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inability to maintain aircraft control during climb due to an improperly installed rudder pedal control tube.