ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 168613
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| Date: | Sunday 10 August 2014 |
| Time: | 02:17 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-250 Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Christopher Cyphers |
| Registration: | N5158P |
| MSN: | 24-174 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1958 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Big Lake Airport (PAGQ), Big Lake, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Anchorage, AK (PAMR) |
| Big Lake, AK (PAGQ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The passenger reported that, before departing for the short personal flight to the private pilot's residence, she and the pilot went to dinner and then a local bar. They then departed, and she remembered hitting something like a "bump" while the airplane was on approach to the destination airport, but she could not recall anything else about the accident sequence due to her injuries. Dark night conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The passenger reported no mechanical problems with the airplane, and the pilot did not mention any mechanical problems during the flight.
The airplane wreckage was found alongside a road adjacent to the destination airport. An area believed to be the initial impact site had two broken 40-ft-high treetops located about 50 ft south of the extended runway centerline and 830 ft from the runway threshold. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Toxicological testing detected levels of ethanol in the pilot’s blood equivalent to a 0.192 percent blood alcohol concentration, which is 4.5 times greater than the regulatory limit for pilots. Slightly higher alcohol levels were detected in the pilot’s vitreous samples, which is consistent with his recent ingestion of sufficient alcohol to cause impairment. Therefore, the pilot’s impairment led to his inability to safety operate the airplane, and he failed to maintain clearance from trees during the approach to the airport.
Probable Cause: The pilot's impairment due to alcohol consumption, which resulted in his failure to maintain clearance from trees.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=5158P
Location
Media:
State Troopers say an Anchorage pilot died & his passenger is injured after a crash at the Big Lake airport #Ch2KTUU pic.twitter.com/kD1UGVo1fV
— Adam Pinsker (@AdamPinsker) August 10, 2014Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Aug-2014 17:42 | harro | Added |
| 11-Aug-2014 02:38 | Geno | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 11-Aug-2014 07:01 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 11-Aug-2014 17:23 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Nature, Source, Embed code] |
| 25-Aug-2014 19:57 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 30-Nov-2017 19:01 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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