History of Flight
On June 12, 2014, at approximately 2105 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Dittenber Express Auriga, registration N55GM, struck the ground while landing at Echo Bay Airport (0L9) in Overton, Nevada. The owner/pilot was conducting a cross-country personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight had departed from Minden, Nevada, around 1800. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
A witness reported that the airplane made a low pass east of the airport, then reversed course, presumably to land on runway 24. The witness lost sight of the airplane as it neared the airport and observed a column of black smoke shortly thereafter.
Personnel Information
The 48-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. He did not possess a valid medical certificate; his most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on December 16, 2011, with a limitation requiring corrective lenses, and expired December 31, 2013. According to his medical application, he reported 7,880 total flight hours with 190 hours in the preceding six months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was an experimental amateur-built Auriga, serial number 008, manufactured in 1999. It was a four-seat aircraft equipped with a Lycoming IO-360 reciprocating engine and a variable-pitch Hartzell propeller. The only maintenance record found documented the replacement of a landing light on March 5, 2013, at an indicated total aircraft time of 1,348.4 hours. The accident flight departed from Reno Airport with an unknown quantity of fuel. The pilot had purchased the airplane on December 19, 2006.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination of the accident site showed that the airplane struck the ground in a steep nose-down attitude. The debris field measured about 100 feet in diameter. The first identified point of contact was a ground scar crater located 200 yards northeast of the runway threshold. The impact point was on a slope at an elevation of 1,485 feet msl, approximately 50 feet below the runway elevation. The wreckage was fragmented and extensively consumed by the post-impact fire. The propeller flange separated from the crankshaft, with torsional granular features on a 45-degree conical plane. The propeller exhibited S-bending, torsional twisting, and scarring. The engine exhaust system and heater shroud were crushed with ductal deformation.
Medical and Pathological Information
The pilot's autopsy, performed by the Clark County Coroner, determined the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was accident. Toxicology testing identified methamphetamine intoxication: the liver contained 9,500 ng/g of methamphetamine, 640 ng/g of amphetamine, and 280 ng/g of tramadol. Testing by the NTSB at the FAA's Bioaeronautical Research Laboratory also detected methamphetamine and amphetamine in the pilot's liver and muscle, and tramadol in liver, kidney, and heart tissues. The pilot had reported no medications or significant medical conditions on his last medical application. No natural disease was noted.
Additional Information
Radar and communication records from Nellis Air Force Base Air Traffic Control showed that the airplane had used the registration N4785V (associated with a Bellanca previously owned by the pilot) and terminated service at 2039. Radar tracking continued until the airplane was about five miles west of the airport at 2043. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.