The pilot obtained a weather briefing and filed a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan to Festus Memorial Airport (KFES) in Missouri, using his ForeFlight account with an estimated departure time of 0750 from the airport in Richmond, Indiana.
Data recovered from an onboard Appareo Stratus device revealed that the pilot departed Runway 24 at 0740.
After an initial climb over the runway, the Aeropro CZ A240 light sport airplane leveled off briefly and drifted left of the runway centerline. The airplane subsequently entered a climbing right turn and reached an altitude of approximately 2,045 feet with a right bank angle of about 40°.
The airplane then entered a descent as the right turn continued. The bank angle decreased to about 30° before it increased again, reaching about 90°. The descent continued until the data ended about two seconds later. The final data point was recorded at 0742:38 at an altitude about 1,284 feet.
The approximate elevation at the accident site was 1,144 feet mean sea level. The average descent rate over the final 22 seconds of data was about 2,041 feet per minute.
At 0750, an individual driving near the airport contacted local authorities after he observed a fire and subsequently identified it as an airplane. It was fully engulfed when he initially saw it. There were no known witnesses to the accident in which the pilot was killed.
The airplane hit an open field about 1/2 mile south-southwest of the airport. It came to rest upright on a northwesterly heading. A post-impact fire consumed the fuselage, empennage, and inboard wings with exception of the tubular airframe structure. The fuselage and wing structure were deformed consistent with impact forces. The cockpit instrumentation was destroyed.
At the time of the accident, an AIRMET advisory for instrument conditions was in effect.
The pilot’s special issuance medical certificate authorization, issued due to a history of coronary artery disease and coronary bypass surgery, was withdrawn because follow-up stress testing revealed myocardial ischemia. The pilot had reported taking gabapentin, metoprolol, amlodipine, ramipril, rosuvastatin, and clopidogrel. In addition to the coronary artery disease, the pilot reported having chronic back pain, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
According to the autopsy report, the cause of the pilot’s death was multiple blunt force injuries. In addition to the injuries, the forensic pathologist reported that the pilot had an enlarged heart, 90% atherosclerosis in his left anterior descending coronary artery, 50% stenosis of his left circumflex artery, and evidence of coronary artery bypass grafts.
Toxicology testing performed by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected gabapentin in the pilot’s cavity blood at 1,426 ng/mL and liver tissue. Duloxetine was detected in the pilot’s cavity blood at 219 ng/mL and liver tissue. Metoprolol, rosuvastatin, cimetidine, and pantoprazole were detected in the pilot’s cavity blood and liver tissue.
The pilot’s logbook was not available for review. The pilot noted a total civilian flight time of 100 hours, with 50 hours in the previous six months, on an airman medical certificate application dated Aug. 28, 2019.
Probable Cause: The noninstrument-rated pilot’s intentional flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and loss of airplane control.
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This April 2021 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
