ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 176163
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| Date: | Saturday 16 May 2015 |
| Time: | 12:31 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-260 Comanche B |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N9032P |
| MSN: | 24-4494 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8690 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Spring Branch, E of Kestrel Airpark (1T7), San Antonio, Texas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Kestrel Airpark, TX (1T7) |
| Kestrel Airpark, TX (1T7) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot was departing on a local flight with three passengers in the complex, high-performance airplane. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane descended and impacted terrain near a store parking lot. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicological testing of the pilot revealed the presence of marijuana and its metabolite (THC and THC-COOH). THC is a psychoactive drug with potential effects such as decreased ability to concentrate and maintain attention, and impaired hand-eye coordination; these effects can present with blood levels of THC as low as 1 ng/ml. Due to postmortem redistribution, the exact level of THC and THC-COOH at the time of the accident could not be determined; however, the pilot's minimum THC level was likely about 5-11 ng/ml, and his THC-COOH level was likely about 3-4 ng/ml. His actual levels could have been higher at the time of the accident, and would likely have been higher during the time of preflight decision-making. The accident was consistent with a loss of control after takeoff due to the pilot's impairment by the effects of marijuana.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control during takeoff due to his impairment from marijuana. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impaired decision to fly after using a disqualifying drug.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Images:
Photo(c): NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-May-2015 19:51 | harro | Added |
| 16-May-2015 19:53 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport] |
| 16-May-2015 22:17 | Geno | Updated [Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-May-2015 06:49 | tinkicker | Updated [Registration, Cn] |
| 17-May-2015 14:40 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-May-2015 20:19 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 23-May-2015 03:33 | Geno | Updated [Operator, Nature, Destination airport, Source] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 14-Mar-2017 13:44 | PiperOnslaught | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Aug-2017 13:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Mar-2022 18:38 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Photo] |
| 29-May-2023 06:56 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Photo]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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