Accident Overview
On August 12, 2008, at approximately 0805 Pacific daylight time, a Bowman Titan Tornado II, registration N3156B, collided with a car on Interstate 40 near Needles, California. The pilot was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane was performing a low-altitude maneuver at the time of the collision. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The departure location and time were unknown. The private pilot was killed, and the three occupants of the car suffered minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its fuselage.
Witness Accounts
A witness driving a tractor-trailer southbound on Highway US 95 reported that the airplane flew approximately 10 feet above his truck about 2 miles north of I-40. It was flying straight and level, did not appear to be in distress, and the propeller was turning, but the witness did not recall hearing engine sounds. The airplane then made a sharp left turn as it approached I-40, after which the witness lost sight of it.
The driver of a car traveling westbound on I-40 at about 70 miles per hour stated that the airplane suddenly appeared in front of her, approaching from the opposite direction. It was in a left-wing-low position and approximately 3 feet off the ground. She was unable to avoid colliding with it.
A third witness, driving behind the accident car, observed the airplane flying about 30 feet above ground level in a southerly direction. He reported that it made a hard left turn; he thought the pilot was trying to land on the highway. The airplane lost altitude before the collision, and the witness could not determine if the engine was running.
Accident Scene and Terrain
The California Highway Patrol documented the accident scene. Their report noted ground scars indicating that the left wing of the airplane contacted the shoulder of the highway before colliding with the car. The terrain surrounding the interstate consisted of open, uneven desert. Highway US 95, north of the I-40 interchange, was a straight and flat two-lane asphalt road for approximately half a mile, with open gravel areas several lanes wide on both sides for the last quarter mile. There were no overhead power lines.
Aircraft and Engine Information
A friend of the family reported to the CHP that the pilot based the airplane at Eagle Field in Mojave Valley, Arizona, located about 080 degrees at 7 nautical miles from the accident site. The pilot had purchased the airplane approximately 18 months prior; he did not build it. The engine was a Subaru EA81 with a Rotary International propeller reduction system and an Ellison throttle body carburetor. The propeller was a Tennessee wood two-blade design with a urethane leading edge. According to the Titan Aircraft website, the airplane's landing roll distance was 250 feet, and its solo stall speed was 35 miles per hour. It was a single-engine, high-wing aircraft with a pusher propeller mounted on the wing aft of the cabin.
NTSB Engine Examination
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge examined the engine. After removing the valve covers and rotating the crankshaft via the propeller, the crankshaft rotated freely without metallic sounds. The exhaust and intake valves moved with approximately the same lift, and thumb compression was obtained on all cylinders. The spark plugs had clean electrodes with no mechanical deformation; they were similar in shape and gap, and gray in color, consistent with normal operation per the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart. The rotor cap on the ignition system had sustained crush damage and could not be tested.
Pilot Information
A review of the 65-year-old private pilot's logbook showed a total flight time of 1,678 hours, with 12 hours in the accident make and model. His last medical certificate was issued in November 1997. An autopsy by the San Bernardino County Coroner revealed evidence of severe coronary artery disease treated with bypass surgery and stent placement, as well as a history of high blood pressure and non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicological samples tested positive for metoprolol in the liver and lungs.