ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 231611
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| Date: | Saturday 21 December 2019 |
| Time: | 16:14 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser |
| Owner/operator: | X-cell Aviation Flight Training Center LLC |
| Registration: | N601FL |
| MSN: | 28-7125475 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1971 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8403 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Evansville, IN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Evansville-Dress Regional Airport, IN (EVV/KEVV) |
| Evansville, IN | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was flying to an airport about 60 miles north of the departure airport. About 18 miles short of the destination airport, the pilot informed air traffic control (ATC) that he was returning to his departure airport and performed a 180° turn to the south. The pilot did not report any problems or concerns to ATC during the flight and he was cleared to land on runway 18 at the departure airport. Witnesses observed the airplane enter a right descending turn and impact a field about 2 miles north of the airport. No anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine during postaccident examination that would have resulted in a loss of aircraft control.
According to the autopsy of the pilot, the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries; however, the autopsy was limited due to the injuries the pilot received. The pilot's medical records demonstrated the pilot had severe coronary disease than was not fully identified by the limited autopsy. The disease had progressed over the previous 20 years and placed the pilot at risk of sudden symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, disturbances in heart rhythm causing palpitations and fainting. Heart rhythm problems leave no evidence at autopsy and even large heart attacks do not leave autopsy evidence if death occurs within about 3 hours. The absence of findings during the autopsy were not indicative that an acute cardiac event did not occur. Based on available evidence from the pilot's medical records, it was possible that the pilot had experienced a sudden incapacitation due to an acute cardiac event, which led to a loss of control of the airplane. However, this could not be definitively determined based on a lack of additional corroborating operational evidence.
Based on available evidence from the pilot's medical records, the most likely explanation for the accident is sudden incapacitation of the pilot due to an acute cardiac event, which led to a loss of control of the airplane.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN20FA038
Location
Images:
Photo(c): NTSB
Media:
AIRCRAFT CRASH: A small light aircraft has crashed on the grounds of Camp Reveal off East Boonville-New Harmony Road killing the pilot. A news release will follow later today. pic.twitter.com/Mxi0n5uGOQ
— Vanderburgh Sheriff (@VandSheriff) December 21, 2019
NTSB investigating the Dec. 21, 2019, crash of a Piper PA-28, Evansville, IN.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) December 21, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Dec-2019 23:12 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 21-Dec-2019 23:20 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Embed code] |
| 21-Dec-2019 23:56 | Geno | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2019 23:59 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Dec-2019 00:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 05-Mar-2022 22:57 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Nature, Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Photo] |
| 08-Jul-2022 11:49 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report] |
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