History of Flight
On March 10, 2009, at 1249 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Zodiac 601HD, registered N601DE, was destroyed when it impacted the ground and caught fire in Live Oak, Florida. The passenger was fatally injured, and the pilot initially sustained serious injuries before succumbing to them on April 5, 2009. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane departed Suwannee County Airport (24J), Live Oak, around 1200 and impacted a field about 7 miles west of the airport. The intended route was unknown; no radar data were available, and the pilot did not request a preflight weather briefing or file a flight plan. Two 5-year-old boys playing in a backyard observed the airplane flying overhead with smoke coming from the front and underside. One witness noted one wing was lower and the airplane was loud.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 68, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating and an experimental repairman builder certificate for the accident airplane. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on June 22, 2006, at which time he reported 500 hours of total flight experience. Examination of his logbook showed entries from July 2, 1988, to March 20, 2007, with 298 logged hours, including a gap from 1998 to 2001. The final entry was a flight review on March 20, 2007.
Aircraft Information
The Zodiac 601HD was a low-wing monoplane with side-by-side seating, powered by a Franklin 4A235B31 engine. The pilot built the airplane, which received an airworthiness certificate on November 27, 2001. The airframe logbook showed entries from that date to October 2008, all by the pilot/repairman. The last entry indicated a routine conditional inspection with no anomalies and an aircraft total time of 249 hours, also stating it was "now a light sport aircraft." The FAA official file did not reflect this change. The engine logbook was not located.
Meteorological Information
Weather recorded at Valdosta Regional Airport (VLD), 31 nautical miles northwest of the accident site, at 1253 included winds from 170 degrees at 4 knots, 10 miles visibility, scattered clouds at 5,000 feet, temperature 26°C, dew point 12°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.19 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
An FAA inspector examined the wreckage. The airplane struck a tree with one wing and then impacted the ground at the tree base, with the top half of the tree embedded in the fuselage. Postcrash fire consumed most of the aircraft except the tail section. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the rudder and horizontal stabilizer to the cockpit. The engine could not be examined due to fire damage, and the composite propeller was shattered.
Medical and Toxicological Information
The pilot was transported to the hospital with critical injuries and died 26 days later. An autopsy conducted on April 6, 2009, by the Office of the Medical Examiner in Gainesville, Florida, listed the cause of death as "complications of a plane crash."