ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 296169
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| Date: | Friday 28 February 2003 |
| Time: | 11:30 LT |
| Type: | Mitchell CH-801 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N235RJ |
| MSN: | 8-4114 |
| Engine model: | LOM M337B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Nicholas, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | RIO LINDA, CA (Q94) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane broke apart in flight, and the debris path was 2 miles long. The top surface of the right wing was the first item in the debris path. The next pieces were the vertical and horizontal stabilizers. They were approximately 400 feet away from the right wing, and 50 feet apart from each other. The remainder of the right wing was 800 feet past the stabilizers. The left wing was an additional 300 feet away. The fuselage was near the end of the debris trail. Rivet holes at separation points were elongated and/or deformed. Fracture surfaces were angular and irregularly shaped. The toxicology reports indicated the finding of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the active substance in marijuana) and tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid (THC-COOH), an inactive metabolite of marijuana) in the blood of both occupants. The levels of the substances are consistent with the smoking of at least one marijuana cigarette within about 12 hours of death in the case of the pilot, and 2 hours for the passenger. A few studies have shown impairment during the performance of demanding aircraft simulator tasks even 24 hours after smoking marijuana, and it is likely that the pilot was at least somewhat impaired at the time of the accident.
Probable Cause: an in-flight structural failure due to the pilot exceeding the design limitations of the airplane. Drug impairment was a factor.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX03FA102
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Oct-2022 17:23 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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