On August 12, 2008, about 0805 Pacific daylight time (PDT), a Bowman Titan Tornado II, N3156B, collided with a car on Interstate 40 during a low altitude maneuver near Needles, California. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was killed, and the three occupants in the car sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The flight departed from an unknown location at an unknown time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
A witness reported that he was driving a tractor-trailer truck southbound on highway US 95. About 2 miles north of Interstate 40 (I-40), a southbound airplane flew about 10 feet above his truck. It was flying straight and level, and did not appear to be in distress. The propeller was turning, but the witness did not recall hearing the sounds of the engine. The airplane made a sharp left turn as it approached I-40, and then he lost sight of it.
The driver of a car headed westbound on I-40 stated that she was in the number one lane, and traveling about 70 miles per hour. The airplane suddenly appeared in front of her as it approached from the opposite direction. It was in a left wing low position, and about 3 feet off the ground. She was unable to avoid colliding with it.
A witness driving behind the accident car observed the airplane as it was flying about 30 feet above ground level in a southerly direction. He said that it made a hard left turn, and thought that the pilot was trying to land on the highway. It lost altitude prior to the collision; he could not tell if the engine was running.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) documented the scene of the accident. Their report noted ground scars that indicated that the left wing of the airplane contacted the shoulder of the highway prior to colliding with the car.
The terrain surrounding the interstate was open, uneven desert terrain. A visual examination revealed that US 95 was a straight and flat two-lane asphalt highway for approximately 1/2 miles on the north side of the I-40 interchange with open gravel areas several lanes wide on both sides for the last 1/4 mile. There were no overhead power lines.
A friend of the family related to the CHP that the pilot based the airplane at Eagle Field, Mojave Valley, Arizona. Eagle Field was about 080 degrees at 7 nautical miles from the accident site. The pilot did not build the airplane; he purchased it about 18 months prior to the accident. The engine was a Subaru EA81 with a Rotary International propeller reduction system and an Ellison throttle body carburetor. It had a Tennessee wood two-blade propeller with a urethane leading edge. The Titan Aircraft website noted that the airplane's landing roll distance was 250 feet. It indicated that the solo stall speed was 35 miles per hour. The single-engine airplane had a high wing, and a pusher propeller mounted on the wing aft of the cabin.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) examined the engine. He removed the valve covers, and rotated the crankshaft with the propeller. The crankshaft rotated freely, and there were no metallic sounds. The exhaust and intake valves moved approximately the same amount of lift, and the IIC obtained thumb compression on all cylinders. The spark plugs electrodes were clean with no mechanical deformation; they were of similar shape, and had similar gaps. They were gray, which corresponded to normal operation according to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart. The rotor cap on the ignition system sustained crush damage, and the system could not be tested.
A review of the 65-year-old private pilot's logbook indicated a total flight time of 1,678 hours in all aircraft, with 12 hours in the make and model airplane involved in the accident. The pilot's last issuance of a medical certificate was in November 1997.
An autopsy was performed on the pilot by the San Bernardino County Coroner. The report noted evidence of severe coronary artery disease treated with bypass surgery and stent placement, and a history of high blood pressure and non-insulin dependent diabetes. The cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries.
Toxicological samples were sent to the Federal Aviation Administration Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The findings were positive for metoprolol detected in the liver and lungs.