ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 150914
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| Date: | Friday 23 November 2012 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28 Cherokee |
| Owner/operator: | Adm Aero Llc |
| Registration: | N5076W |
| MSN: | 28-85 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1961 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-B2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range, 50 miles SE of Yuma, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Tucson, AZ (TUS) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Without clearance or communication with air traffic control, the pilot took off in the airplane from a taxiway and departed the airport area westbound. Five days later, the airplane wreckage was found 160 miles west of the departure airport. Postaccident examination of the wreckage determined that the airplane impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude. Further examination of the airplane and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot had been treated in the past for depression, a seizure disorder, an opiate addiction, and she used lamotrigine to treat migraine headaches. Toxicology results detected a sedating antihistamine, diphenhydramine, lamotrigine, and tetrahydrocannabinol in the pilot, however, their effects on her performance at the time of the accident could not be determined.
The pilot’s husband reported that his wife had been displaying abnormal behavior about 3 to 4 weeks before the accident. In a phone conversation with her husband the night before the accident, the pilot expressed concern about men in black helicopters watching her, and, in a message left on his voicemail the day of the accident, her husband stated that she seemed to be “acting paranoid,” stating she was going to take the airplane flying to get away from “them.”
The source of the pilot’s psychosis could not be determined during the investigation. The pilot’s acute psychosis with paranoid thoughts likely impaired her decision-making and judgment and contributed to the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment due to acute psychosis with paranoid thoughts.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=5076W&x=0&y=0
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Nov-2012 12:59 | gerard57 | Added |
| 28-Nov-2012 16:17 | Geno | Updated [Date, Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Nov-2012 07:33 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 19-May-2017 05:58 | PiperOnslaught | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Nov-2017 13:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Jul-2022 17:17 | rvargast17 | Updated [Source, Damage] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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