NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 27, 2013, about 2116 central daylight time, a Dankelman Vans RV-7A, N445RV, collided with power lines and trees 0.9 miles northwest of Zuehl Airport (1TE4), Marion, Texas. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. A post-impact fire ensued. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Huber Airpark (E70), Sequin, Texas, at 2104, and was en route to 1TE4, about 12 miles southwest of E70.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed several witnesses. The following is a summation of those interviews and written statements submitted: Prior to departing E70, the pilot refueled his airplane and appeared to have normal cognitive abilities. "He seemed his same old self," said one witness. During the takeoff from E70, the engine sounded normal. It was dark when the pilot made two attempts to land on 1TE4's runway 17. The runway was not equipped with runway lights, and the airplane's landing lights were not on. Each attempt was followed by a departure from the traffic pattern by turning left to the south and then turning east. The accident occurred on the pilot's third attempt to land. The airplane struck two 14,400-volt electric power lines and impacted the ground 100 feet from a tree line on the edge of a farmer's field. The accident site was 750 feet south of Interstate Highway 10, and 0.9 nm northwest of the airport, on airport property.

The following are excerpts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector's report: At 2106, San Antonio, Texas, Approach Control displayed a target squawking mode C VFR (visual flight rules) transponder code 1200 about 3 miles west of E70. The pilot was not in radio contact with approach control. The target was on a straight line track of 240° to 1TE4. Altitude and ground speed varied between 1,300 and 1,600 feet msl (mean sea level) and 125 and 130 knots. The target lined up with runway 17 and began a descent. The target disappeared from radar at 2110 at an altitude of 1,000 feet msl and on a heading of 244°. Ground speed was 100 knots. The target reappeared on radar at 2112 at an altitude of 900 feet msl, heading 125°, and at a ground speed of 50 knots. The target turned to a north-northwest heading. Altitude varied between 900 to 1,000 feet msl (300 to 400 feet above ground level), and accelerated to 131 knots ground speed. The target disappeared again from radar at 2113, at an altitude of 1,000 feet msl, a heading of 343°, and a ground speed of 131 knots. Between 2115 and 2116, the target appeared and disappeared intermittently from radar at altitudes between 800 and 900 feet msl (200 to 300 feet agl). The last radar contact was at 2116 when the target was northwest of 1TE4 in the vicinity of the crash site. The radar data was consistent with what witnesses reported.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The 74 year old pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single/multiengine land and instrument ratings. He also held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single engine and instrument ratings. His third class airman medical certificate, dated September 28, 2011, contained the restrictions: "Not valid for any class after 9/30/2012. Must were corrective lenses." This medical certificate had expired. When the pilot completed his application for medical certification in 2011, he estimated his total flight time to be 1,361 hours.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

N445RV (serial number 71938), a model RV-7A, was built by the owner-pilot and was issued an Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness by the FAA in 2008. The airplane's maintenance records were not located. As a result, inspection dates and times; engine make, model, and horsepower, and propeller make and model could not be determined.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The following METAR (Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report) was recorded at the New Braunfels Regional Airport (KBAZ) Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), New Braunfels, Texas, located 14 miles northeast of the accident site:

KBAZ 2051: Wind, 120 degrees at 4 knots; visibility, 10 miles; sky condition, clear; temperature, 31 degrees Celsius (C.); dew point, 16 degrees C.; altimeter, 29.90 inches of mercury.

KBAZ 2151: Wing, 160 degrees at 09 knots; visibility, 10 miles; sky condition, clear; temperature, 29 degrees C.; dew point, 16 degrees C.; altimeter, 29.91 inches of mercury.

AERODROME INFORMATION

Zuehl Airport (1TE4) is a privately owned airport, located 4 miles south of Marion, Texas, and situated 592 feet msl. It is equipped with one runway, 17-35, 3,000 feet x 200 feet, turf. There are no runway lights, and the airport does not have a rotating beacon.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

According to the FAA inspector, the left wing leading edge and left horizontal stabilizer struck and severed two power lines, but only one power line bore a contact point. About 100 feet of power line was wrapped around the airplane's empennage and trailed through the tree tops. The right wing struck a large tree branch and was torn off, spilling fuel that fed a post-crash fire. The fire destroyed the cockpit and instrument panel, precluding a definitive establishment of flight control continuity, and engine controls and cockpit switch positions. Chop marks on the tree branches and scrape marks on the propeller were consistent the propeller turning at impact. The airplane came to rest 100 feet beyond the trees and power lines on a magnetic heading of 200 degrees.

The power company recorded a 380-amp fault about the time of the accident. A power company spokesman said the fault could have been triggered when the airplane struck the power lines or when the lines contacted the ground.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot's wife, she said her husband was in good health, that he had had a good night's sleep the night before, and he was in an upbeat mood on the day of the accident. She stated that he had been eating and sleeping well for at least 3 days prior to the accident. She stated that he had not flown the airplane for 2 or 3 months and, to the best of her knowledge, had landed only once after sunset at 1TE4. On that particular occasion, it was not completely dark. She thought the pilot and aircraft logbooks were on board the airplane. A search of pilot's hangar failed to locate any of the logbooks.

A review of FAA medical records revealed the pilot was issued a special issuance third class airman medical certificate with the restriction that he must wear corrective lenses. Eyeglasses were found in the aircraft wreckage. The pilot had a history of heart disease.

According to the forensic pathologist's autopsy report, death was attributed to "complications of hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. . . .No antemortem traumatic injuries were found that contributed to his death." No soot was detected in the airways or lungs. It was the pathologist's opinion that "the decedent suffered and succumbed to a complication of his cardiac disease." Toxicology protocol by NMS Laboratories detected 11% carboxyhemoglobin in femoral blood. Toxicology protocol by FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute detected Losartan, a prescription medication and an angiotensin II receptor (type AT1) antagonist, used in the treatment of high blood pressure, in (heart) blood. No carbon monoxide was detected.

This case was reviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board's medical officer. According to his report, the 74 year old pilot "had a history of treated high blood pressure, hypothyroid disease, and prostate cancer resected in 2009." He reported taking losartan, triamterene, and hydrochlorothiazide to treat his high blood pressure, and levothyroxine to treat hypothyroidism. The pilot was required to have a valid third class airman medical certificate while operating an aircraft. His last medical certificate expired September 30, 2012, 9 months before the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s sudden incapacitation and natural death as a result of cardiovascular disease.