Flight History
On July 20, 2012, at 0835 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built RV-4 airplane, registration N25UA, collided with Treat Mountain Road while maneuvering near Cedartown, Georgia. The aircraft was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight by a private individual. A postcrash fire ensued, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight departed from Hilliard Airpark (01J) in Hilliard, Florida, about 0700.
A couple who turned onto Treat Mountain Road observed heavy black smoke and found the accident airplane on fire. The male occupant attempted to assist the pilot but was unable due to the fire. The wife notified 911 at 0846. Witnesses reported low ceilings, rain, and fog. Several witnesses heard the airplane circling overhead between 0815 and 0830; one reported the engine sputtering as if "starving for fuel." The aircraft was not visible due to low clouds and fog. The pilot's wife stated that her husband filled the fuel tanks before departing and planned to call at each refueling stop en route to Warren County Memorial Airport (RNC) in McMinnville, Tennessee, and then to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Pilot Information
The 67-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating, issued October 24, 2003, and a third-class medical certificate with a requirement to wear corrective lenses. His last flight review occurred on March 19, 2011. The pilot's logbook showed his last recorded flight on February 8, 2012, and his tail wheel endorsement on February 20, 2008. He first flew the RV-4 on July 27, 2008, accumulating 4.9 hours with a flight instructor. He had logged 922.2 total flight hours, including 211.8 hours as pilot-in-command in the RV-4.
Aircraft Information
The Van's Aircraft RV-4 is a light homebuilt kit aircraft seating two in tandem. This example, serial number 2131, was built in 1993 and powered by a Lycoming O-320-D1A 160-horsepower engine. The tachometer was not recovered and is presumed destroyed. The last condition inspection was March 19, 2012, with a tachometer reading of 935.3 hours. Total time since major overhaul was 607.5 hours, and total engine time was 7,001.8 hours. The number of hours flown since the condition inspection could not be determined.
Meteorological Information
An NTSB meteorologist provided a weather study. Data indicated a decaying weather area moving southward with potential to regenerate thunderstorms over northern Georgia and Alabama. Radar at 0835 showed a band of strong to intense echoes just north of the accident site. Satellite imagery revealed extensive low overcast clouds and cumulonimbus clouds northwest to north-northeast with tops near 33,500 feet. Airmet Sierra for IFR conditions and Convective SIGMET for embedded thunderstorms were issued. The closest weather station, West Georgia Regional Airport (CTJ) in Carrollton, Georgia, 20 miles southeast, reported wind calm, visibility 2.5 miles in mist, overcast ceiling at 300 feet, temperature 23°C, dew point 22°C, and altimeter 30.07 inches of mercury. Weather depiction charts showed IFR conditions over the accident site.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane came to rest on Treat Mountain Road heading 130 degrees magnetic, having struck the ground in a left-wing-low, nose-down attitude with no debris line. The propeller assembly remained attached but fire-damaged; one blade was bent aft 5 degrees, the other 70 degrees, with leading-edge gouging and chordwise scarring. The engine was rotated by hand, producing compression and suction on all cylinders; crankshaft and valve train continuity were confirmed. The right wing was displaced forward and fire-damaged; the left wing was pushed aft, its leading edge crushed, and it was bent upward 6 feet outboard of the root. Both fuel tanks ruptured. The empennage was undamaged. The canopy separated, the windscreen broke, and the canopy lock was locked. The fire-damaged instrument panel showed the throttle full forward, propeller full forward, mixture full rich, and fuel selector on the right main tank. The carburetor heat door was closed. Seat belts were latched but webbing consumed. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the forward yoke to the ailerons (push-pull tubes burned in half aft of fuel tanks) and from the forward stick to the elevator, where the rod end exhibited overload failure.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy on July 21, 2012, by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation listed the cause of death as blunt head injuries. Forensic toxicology performed by the FAA's Civil Aerospace Institute tested negative for alcohol, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. Acetaminophen (105.9 µg/ml) was identified in urine; venlafaxine (0.215 µg/ml) and desmethylvenlafaxine (undetermined quantity) were found in blood and urine; naproxen (undetermined quantity) was in urine.
Additional Information
The Van's Aircraft-RV-4 total performance notes the bottom of the green arc (stall speed without flaps) at 58 mph. A commercially-rated pilot friend who assisted with flight planning stated the accident pilot was not instrument rated, did not file a flight plan, and topped off the fuel tanks before departure. The first leg was from 01J to RNC. The crash site was 21.3 miles northwest of CTJ, 264 nautical miles from 01J. At 166 knots cruise, estimated flight time to the site was 1 hour 35 minutes. According to the RV-4 Pilot's Operating Handbook, total fuel capacity is 16 gallons with 1 gallon unusable per tank. The Lycoming O-32 Series Operators Manual states fuel flow at 75% power is about 9 gallons per hour.