Accident Sequence
Witnesses reported that the airplane was in a controlled descent before entering a nosedive and impacting a residence. The aircraft disappeared behind a tree line during the dive. A post-crash fire destroyed the airplane.
Background
The flight departed from a private airpark during a period following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when VFR general aviation flights were prohibited. Local authorities were told that the pilot was having problems with his personal life. The pilot's wife informed authorities that the pilot had never flown the accident airplane before and that the airplane had not been flown for five years.
Toxicology and Investigation
Toxicological tests on samples from the pilot tested positive for prescription antidepressant medications. The sheriff's department found evidence that the pilot had threatened suicide in the past. However, neither the sheriff's department nor the medical examiner found evidence to support suicide, and the death was ruled accidental.