2014 Grumman American AA-5B Crash in Oregon (N28718)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On June 15, 2014, at approximately 0945 Pacific daylight time, a Grumman American AA-5B, registration N28718, impacted the Pacific Ocean roughly 3 miles northwest of Florence Municipal Airport (6S2) in Florence, Oregon. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed. The flight originated from 6S2 at about 0845 under marginal visual meteorological conditions, with no flight plan filed. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Witnesses reported observing the departure in marginal conditions. About an hour later, a witness heard an engine approaching the airport but could not see the aircraft due to low ceilings and visibility, noting that weather was quickly deteriorating. Another witness walking along the beach heard an engine in low clouds estimated at 100 feet above ground level. The witness saw a small airplane emerge from the clouds above the river traveling westbound away from the airport. The pilot then increased throttle, pitched up, and reentered the clouds. Shortly after, the airplane exited the low overcast about 400 yards offshore in a near-vertical attitude with the right wing low before impacting the ocean. No radar data were available for the aircraft or the departure airport. ## Personnel and Aircraft Information The pilot, age 69, held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land issued December 19, 2008, and a third-class airman medical certificate issued July 29, 2013, with a limitation requiring corrective lenses. The pilot's logbook was not recovered. On the application for the most recent medical certificate, the pilot reported 660 total flight hours and was not instrument rated. The four-seat, low-wing, fixed-gear airplane, serial number AA5B-0772, was manufactured in 1978 and powered by a Lycoming O-360-A4K 180-hp engine with a Sensenich model 76EM8S10-0-64 fixed-pitch propeller. Maintenance records showed an annual inspection completed on April 1, 2014, at a tachometer reading of 1013.0 hours, airframe total time of 3062.4 hours, and 968.1 engine hours since major overhaul. The tachometer and Hobbs hour-meter were not located at the accident site, precluding determination of current readings. ## Meteorological and Wreckage Information Recorded data from the 6S2 automated weather observation station, located 2.5 miles southeast of the accident site, showed conditions at 0955 of wind from 270 degrees at 5 knots, visibility of 1.25 miles, temperature and dew point of 13 degrees Celsius, and overcast clouds at 300 feet above ground level. A GOES-15 infrared image at 0945 PDT depicted a band of low stratiform clouds over the Oregon coast and the accident site with cloud tops near 13,500 feet. The airplane was believed to have impacted the Pacific Ocean about 0.25 miles from the shoreline. The main wreckage was not located, but various components washed up on shore were recovered, including the right wing flap, rudder, elevators, right landing gear wheel, pieces of sheet metal, and various interior parts. The remainder of the airplane was not located. Due to the limited number of recovered components, a postaccident airframe and engine examination was not completed. ## Medical and Pathological Information An autopsy was performed on the pilot on June 20, 2014, by the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner, with the cause of death reported as blunt force trauma. The pilot had reported no chronic medical conditions or chronic medication use to the FAA or his personal physician. The autopsy identified moderate single vessel coronary artery disease without evidence of a previous scar or muscle injury. Postaccident toxicology conducted by the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute identified 6-ß-natrexol, the primary metabolite of naltrexone, in the pilot's blood and liver. Naltrexone is used as an aid for people with alcohol or opioid abuse to maintain sobriety. Naltrexone alone is not known to be generally impairing, but early in treatment its use can precipitate symptoms of withdrawal. Despite multiple attempts, the reason for the pilot's use of this drug could not be determined.