History of Flight
On July 18, 2013, between 0650 and 0720 central daylight time, N2978G, a Champion 7KCAB, collided with terrain in Oak Ridge, Louisiana, resulting in substantial damage. The certified flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to a private corporation and operated by Flying Tiger Aviation, LLC, of Rayville, Louisiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed John H Hooks Memorial Airport (M79), Rayville, Louisiana, between 0630 and 0700.
The purpose of the flight was to practice aerial spray passes and ag-turns. When the airplane did not return to Rayville, the flight school initiated a search, and the aircraft was located about 1000.
The aircraft was equipped with a Lite Star II GPS, a guidance system for aerial applicators. The unit was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recorders laboratory in Washington DC, where the accident flight was downloaded and plotted. The data revealed the flight lasted about 19 minutes, with the GPS recording starting when the aircraft departed Rayville. However, damage to the unit's timing mechanism prevented determination of the actual departure time. The airplane tracked northwest from the airport toward the intended practice area and conducted nine spray passes, each ending in an ag-turn. After the ninth pass, the airplane began the ag-turn, entered a climbing left turn, then a climbing right turn to an altitude of 208 feet above ground level (agl), slowing to 65 miles per hour ground speed. The last recorded data point corresponded to the impact location.
Personnel
The private pilot, seated in the front seat, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single and multi-engine land and instrument ratings. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) first-class medical was issued on November 1, 2010. According to the FAA, he earned his instrument rating on July 1, 2013, at which time he had 274 total flight hours. His personal logbook was never located.
The flight instructor, seated in the rear seat, held an airline transport pilot rating for airplane single and multi-engine land, single-engine sea, and glider. He was also a ground instructor and a certified flight instructor for airplane single and multi-engine land and instrument airplane. His electronic logbook showed 20,585 total flight hours. His last FAA second-class medical was issued on December 19, 2012.
According to the chief pilot of Flying Tiger Aviation, LLC, the private pilot had recently completed instrument training with the instructor and had just started the Agricultural Aviation Basic Operations course. Dispatch records showed this was the pilot's seventh flight in the program and his second in the accident aircraft, which was equipped with the Lite Star II GPS. The syllabus included four phases: airplane/systems knowledge, coordinated flight and tailwheel landings, commercial maneuvers, and introduction to spray runs, use of the Lite Star II GPS, and forced landings. The instructor was not an agricultural pilot and had no aerial spraying experience; he provided ground instruction on the GPS and ag-turns but was not authorized to provide flight instruction for agricultural operations. His only authorized ag-training aspect was tailwheel endorsements. It could not be determined if the private pilot had completed tailwheel training due to the missing logbook.
The chief pilot noted that the instructor wanted to start instructing agricultural students. The day before the accident, the chief pilot flew with the instructor in an Ag-Cat performing aerial application maneuvers and observed that the instructor "did not fly well at all," expecting smoother performance given his overall experience.
Wreckage and Impact
An on-scene examination conducted on July 19, 2013, by the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge (IIC) revealed that the airplane impacted wooded terrain in a steep, nose-down attitude and came to rest upright at the edge of a creek on a heading of 334 degrees. All major components were accounted for. Broken tree limbs surrounded the main wreckage, which included the entire aircraft except the right wing tip and aileron. The right wing tip was found about 10 feet forward of the main wreckage; trees above it had broken limbs. The right aileron was 3 to 4 feet behind the main wreckage. The engine remained attached and was buried about two feet into the ground. Leading edges of both wings were crushed inward; the cockpit area sustained extensive impact damage. Flight control continuity was established for the left aileron to the left wing root, rudder, and elevator. Right wing continuity could not be established due to impact damage. Photos from first responders showed the tail section partially folded over the top of the aircraft and bent to the right; it was later moved, and the roof removed, to extricate both pilots.
The mixture and throttle controls were found in the full forward position. Most instruments were damaged beyond readable condition. Both front and back seatbelt/shoulder harness assemblies were secure at their attach points and unlatched; latching mechanisms tested and fastened securely.
The aircraft log was found in the wreckage, with the last entry made by the flight instructor for a 1.2-hour flight completed the previous day with the pilot.
Medical and Pathological Information
Autopsies on both pilots were conducted by the Moorehouse Parish Coroner's Office on July 19, 2013. The cause of death for each was determined to be "multiple injuries."
Toxicological testing by the FAA's Accident Research Laboratory identified in the pilot: hydroxychloroquine in liver and blood; tetrahydrocannabinol (marijuana) at 2.3205 µg/ml in lung, 0.0445 µg/ml in liver, 0.0337 µg/ml in blood; tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid at 1.205 µg/ml in liver, 0.1387 µg/ml in lung, 0.1243 µg/ml in blood. Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and inflammation; the pilot had not reported a history of those conditions or use of the drug to the FAA. Marijuana is a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
In the flight instructor, toxicological testing detected: doxazosin in liver and blood; 0.612 µg/ml phentermine in blood; phentermine in liver; valsartan in liver and blood; yohimbine in liver and blood. Doxazosin (Cardura) treats hypertension and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Valsartan (Diovan) treats hypertension. Phentermine (Adipex, Qsymia) treats obesity. Yohimbine treats male sexual dysfunction. The instructor had not reported use of phentermine or yohimbine to the FAA.
Additional Information
A weight and balance calculation using pilot weights from autopsy reports and a conservative estimate of 11 gallons of fuel (minimum for the flight) indicated the airplane was over gross weight by at least 32 pounds and outside/aft of the center of gravity envelope, even without accounting for clothing or pilot gear.