History of Flight
On April 4, 2010, at 1257 central daylight time, a Stutesman RV-6, registration N4024K, was substantially damaged when it impacted Lake Balmorhea near Balmorhea, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident; no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The departure and destination points are not known.
According to witness statements, the airplane was observed flying in the area surrounding Lake Balmorhea. Approximately 10 minutes before the accident, a motorist westbound on Interstate 10 (I-10) called 9-1-1 and reported seeing an airplane matching the description of the accident airplane flying low, possibly attempting to land on the interstate. The driver was at mile marker 201, about 7.6 miles northwest of Lake Balmorhea. Eyewitnesses to the crash reported seeing the airplane flying at a low altitude and slow airspeed as it arrived over the lake from the west. It then made a left turn, as if to head north, and was observed descending during the turn before impacting the water.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 77, held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine and multi-engine land, along with a flight instructor certificate that expired on July 31, 1990. A second-class medical certificate was issued on January 21, 2009, with a requirement to wear corrective lenses and possess glasses for near and interim vision. The pilot's logbook was not recovered; on his last medical application, he reported over 20,000 total flight hours and 60 hours in the preceding 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The two-seat, side-by-side, low-wing, fixed landing gear RV-6 was an experimental amateur-built airplane manufactured in 2002. It was powered by a normally aspirated 160-horsepower Lycoming O-320-B3B engine driving a metal two-bladed Hartzell HC C2YL-16F propeller. The airframe logbook was not recovered; a partially filled maintenance logbook showed the last conditional inspection occurred on January 30, 2008, at a tachometer time of 620.8 hours.
Meteorological Information
At 1246, an automated weather reporting station at Pecos Municipal Airport (KPEQ), Pecos, Texas, reported winds from 260 degrees at 14 knots, gusting to 18 knots, visibility 10 miles, and clear skies.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane was fragmented and completely submerged in Lake Balmorhea, which has an elevation of 3,186 feet mean sea level. Texas Department of Public Safety divers assisted in the recovery; due to limited visibility, they could not locate and recover the right wing. The pilot reportedly used a GPS unit for navigation, but it was not recovered. A responding FAA inspector examined the wreckage and found no pre-impact anomalies with the airframe. The wreckage was taken to a local facility for further examination. On April 27, 2010, the engine was examined by an NTSB investigator with assistance from a Lycoming Engines representative; no pre-impact anomalies were noted with the engine. Blade curling was consistent with the propeller being driven at the time of water impact.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on April 6, 2010, by a medical examiner for El Paso County, Texas, as authorized by the Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Reeves County, Texas, found no significant findings and ruled the cause of death as massive multiple injuries, with the manner of death ruled an accident. Forensic toxicology performed by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory detected 0.008 µg/ml/g of diphenhydramine in blood, ibuprofen in urine, and 57.03 µg/ml/g of salicylate in urine. The toxicology report was negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol.