NTSB Factual Report

On May 24, 2010, about 0930 mountain standard time, an experimental Rice GN-1 Air Camper impacted the terrain near Big Springs Airpark (AZ27), Paulden, Arizona. The airline transport pilot, who was the sole occupant, died of his injuries after being airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center, and the airplane, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage to the majority of its structure. The local 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight, which took off from the same location about 20 minutes prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed.

According to witnesses who saw the airplane in a left hand pattern to runway 28 prior to the initiation of the accident sequence, the pilot was doing a series of touch-and-go landings to the dirt airstrip. During one of his approaches, the airplane descended into the terrain about 100 yards north of the threshold of runway 28. None of the witnesses who had earlier noticed the airplane in the traffic pattern actually saw the sequence of events that terminated in the airplane's impact with the terrain.

According to air ambulance records, when emergency response personnel arrived at the scene, the pilot stated that he was in the process of landing the airplane and that it crashed short of the runway, but he did not know what had happened to cause the crash. The records noted that the pilot, who had to be extracted from the wreckage, told the emergency personnel that he did not know if he had lost consciousness during the crash. At the scene the pilot was noted to be complaining of lower back pain, chest pain, and shortness of breath, and was ultimately airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center by Native American Air Ambulance. Hospital records noted that the pilot died at 1230 following resuscitative efforts at Flagstaff Medical Center, and according to the autopsy performed by the Office of The Coconino County Medical Examiner, the cause of death was, "Multiple injuries due to a plane crash." The manner of death was listed as "Accidental."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector who went to the scene, ground impact scars indicated that the airplane collided with the terrain in a steep to vertical “stall” nose down attitude. The propeller, engine, and forward passenger compartment were all compressed into one mass of damaged structure, and the empennage had sheared from the forward part of the fuselage. The fuel tank had been torn from the structure and breeched, but there was a significant fuel stain in the sandy dirt under the tank. Both flight control continuity and engine control continuity were confirmed at the site, although the position of the engine controls at the time of impact could not be determined.

The engine was recovered to Air Transport in Phoenix, Arizona, where an FAA monitored/directed partial engine teardown inspection was performed. During that inspection all four cylinder assemblies were removed and inspected, along with their associated pistons and spark plugs. Once the cylinder assemblies were removed, the interior of the crankcase, to include the exposed portions of the crankshaft and the cam shaft, were able to be inspected. In addition, the external oil filter was removed, cut open and inspected; the oil pump was disassembled and inspected; the magnetos were removed and tested; and the accessory section cover was removed for access to the accessory gearing.

During the teardown inspection the only anomaly that was found was a broken oil scraper piston ring on the number one piston. About ten percent of the ring was missing, but there was no damage to its grove or the remainder of the piston, and there was no damage to the cylinder wall. The top two rings were intact and free in their groves. Except for the aforementioned broken ring section, all three rings on the number one piston showed normal wear and operating signatures. At the completion of the teardown inspection no anomaly or malfunction had been found that would have kept the engine from producing its full rated horsepower.

A forensic toxicology examination performed on specimens taken from the pilot by the Federal Aviation Administration's Civil Aero-Medical Institute (CAMI) was negative for carbon monoxide and cyanide in the blood, and negative for ethanol in the vitreous. The examination was positive for atropine in the blood. The same examination found glucose levels of 238 mg/dl in the vitreous and 2965 mg/dl in the urine. A hemoglobin A1c level of 10.4 percent was noted. The toxicology report noted that “postmortem vitreous glucose levels above 125 mg/dl, and postmortem urine glucose levels above 100 mg/dl are abnormal” and “hemoglobin A1c blood levels above six percent are considered abnormal.” Hospital records indicated the administration of 6 units of packed red blood cells and of atropine during resuscitative attempts. “D-stick” measurement of blood glucose during air ambulance transport was noted as 354.

A review of the pilot's FAA Airman's Medical Record revealed that he was a Type II diabetic, who as of his last Application for Airman Medical Certificate on January 25, 2010, was controlling his diabetes with oral medication, with a hemoglobin A1c of 7.6 percent noted on November 23, 2009. The autopsy report noted the presence of food in the pilot’s stomach.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's loss of airplane control for undetermined reasons while on final approach to land.