NTSB Factual Report

On September 15, 2007, at 0810 central daylight time, a 1931 vintage Monocoupe 110SP airplane, N110SP, was destroyed following a collision with terrain while performing aerobatic flight maneuvers near Utopia, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The local flight initiated from the pilot's private airstrip, near Utopia, Texas, at an undetermined time.

In a written statement from an eyewitness and personal friend of the pilot, who is also a pilot, stated that "his friend was buzzing his house." He added that the first pass was from north to south, just west of his house. The second pass was to the north at about 200-feet above the ground. The airplane was then observed climbing to about 3,000-feet above ground level, performed a loop and entered a vertical nose-dive. The airplane was then observed passing below the tree line, and just before he came back in to view, the witness reported hearing a "cough" from the engine. The witness further stated that the engine sounded smoothly as he observed the airplane emerging from behind the trees. The witness noted that the airplane was flying inverted, something that his friend had "never done in previous passes." The airplane then "suddenly entered a vertical, inverted dive into a bunch of oak trees."

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed and on-scene examination of the wreckage. According to the inspector the airplane was totally destroyed due to the apparent high speed vertical impact with the ground. The wreckage of the vintage airplane was recovered to the owner's private hangar on Thunder Ranch. A review of the aircraft records indicated no pre-impact anomalies and that the aircraft was well maintained.

An autopsy was performed by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office, San Antonio, Texas. The autopsy revealed the cause of death as "blunt force injuries."

Toxicological testing was performed by the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (CAMI) A toxicology report was completed by CAMI, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and indicated no drugs were found in the system. Tests for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol were not performed. No drugs were detected in the tests.

At 0751, the weather at the Hondo Municipal Airport, located approximately 23 miles to the southeast of the accident site, was wind from 020 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 7 miles, clear skies, temperature 21 degrees Celsius, dew point 19 degrees Celsius, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.18 inches of Mercury.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's loss of control while performing a low level inverted flight maneuver.