ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 277874
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| Date: | Sunday 1 May 2022 |
| Time: | 17:05 |
| Type: |  Van's RV-7 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N1218B |
| MSN: | 72061 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2018 |
| Engine model: | Teledyne Mattituck Services TMX-390 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Moontown Airport (3M5), Huntsville, AL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Dallas-Collin County Regional At Mc Kinney Airport, TX (KTKI) |
| Moontown Airport, AL (3M5) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On May 1, 2022, about 1705 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Van's Aircraft RV-7A, N1218B, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Huntsville International Airport-Carl T Jones Field (HSV), Huntsville, Alabama. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.
Review of flight track data for the personal flight showed that the airplane flew on an easterly course for about 3 hours before the airplane’s altitude, heading, and groundspeed began to deviate. The airplane overflew the intended destination airport, circled several times, and impacted terrain about 600 ft short of a private airstrip about 16 nautical miles to the northeast of the intended airport.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact anomalies or malfunctions that would have precluded normal flight. The pilot stated that he had not eaten on the day of the accident, had consumed one beer before the accident flight, and had consumed additional alcoholic beverages in the airplane during the flight. The pilot recalled nothing from the last portion of the flight; however, evidence (open alcohol containers found in the wreckage) confirmed that he had consumed alcohol during the flight.
Toxicology testing detected ethanol in the pilot’s blood at 0.172 gm/dL and his urine at 0.267 gm/dL. These concentrations were four to five times higher than the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory limit of 0.04 gm/dL; such concentrations would be impairing, and the pilot likely experienced degraded judgment and deficient coordination, psychomotor skills, perception, and attention. The airplane’s flightpath also demonstrated pilot impairment due to alcohol consumption before and during the flight. In addition, open alcohol containers were recovered in the wreckage, and the pilot admitted to consuming alcohol before and during the flight. The pilot likely experienced alcohol-related difficulties with cognitive and motor skills and was thus unable to safely manage the flight, resulting in a subsequent loss of airplane control.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s impairment due to the effects of ethanol, which resulted in a loss of airplane control and an impact with terrain on approach to landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105026
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1218B
Location
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-May-2022 18:28 | Captain Adam | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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