History of Flight
On January 11, 2015, at approximately 1427 Pacific standard time, an experimental amateur-built Bruce J Myers (Vans) RV-9A, registration N8080S, struck the ground at Prineville Airport in Prineville, Oregon. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed during the accident. The flight, which was a personal cross-country trip, had intended to reach Bend, Oregon. Visual meteorological conditions were present, and no flight plan had been filed.
According to the assistant manager of the airport, who holds a private pilot certificate, the pilot had arrived around 0930 that morning after failing to land at Madras, Oregon due to poor weather. Upon landing, the pilot discovered a flat nosewheel tire. He borrowed a loaner car from the airport and returned to his home base in Bend to collect tools and a replacement inner tube. After repairing the tire, he discussed the worsening weather with the airport manager before loading his tools and taxiing to the run-up area.
The manager reported that he was watching from his office window with a clear view of runway 33. He observed the pilot perform an engine run-up and then a standard takeoff roll. No other traffic was seen in the air or on the ground. After rotation, the airplane climbed in a nose-high attitude and drifted left of the runway centerline. At about 1,000 feet above ground level, the right wing dipped, and the airplane entered a right spin, descending and impacting the parallel taxiway to runway 28. The manager noticed another airplane make a single pass over the crash site from the northwest; it did not make a radio call and departed after the pass.
Another pilot at the airport described the weather as marginal, with a ceiling of about 1,500 feet, rain, and calm winds.
Pilot Information
The 73-year-old pilot's personal flight records were not located. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) obtained aeronautical experience from FAA medical records. On his June 2013 medical application, the pilot reported a total flight time of 960 hours, with 40 hours in the previous 6 months.
Aircraft Information
FAA records show that the experimental amateur-built, low-wing, fixed-gear airplane (serial number 90836) was constructed by the pilot and issued a special airworthiness certificate in January 2007. The powerplant was an Eggenfellner Subaru H-6 converted automobile engine. No maintenance logbooks were recovered.
Meteorological Information
A routine weather report (METAR) from Prineville at 1415 reported calm winds, visibility 6 miles, light unknown precipitation, scattered clouds at 2,900, 3,400, and 3,900 feet, temperature 5°C (41°F), dew point 3°C (37°F), and an altimeter setting of 30.09 inches of mercury. Similar conditions with light rain were reported at Roberts Field Airport in Redmond, Oregon, 12 miles west, with further deterioration expected.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest on the north taxiway parallel to runway 10/28, about 4,500 feet north-northwest of the takeoff start. Fire consumed the entire cabin and fuselage forward of the empennage, both fuel tanks, and the undersides of both wings. Upper wing surfaces were heavily charred but partially attached to the wing spar. The elevator control push-pull tube remained attached to its control arm, and both rudder cables were attached to their horns. The remaining flight controls were consumed. The electric elevator trim tab was found in the tab-down (nose-up) position. The steel canopy frame was found separate; its rear locking tangs were undamaged, and the forward lower canopy latch handle was at 45 degrees relative to the airframe centerline, corresponding to the "open" position. The canopy skirt and track hardware were consumed by fire.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Oregon State Police Medical Examiner Division conducted an autopsy, determining the cause of death as blunt force head trauma. No significant natural disease was identified.
The FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team tested the pilot's specimens and found: Desmethylsertraline in liver (2.723 ug/ml or ug/g) and heart blood (0.531 ug/ml or ug/g); Sertraline in liver and heart blood (0.531 ug/ml or ug/g). No ethanol was detected.
The NTSB medical officer reviewed the pilot's FAA medical records, the autopsy, and personal medical records. The pilot had reported no chronic conditions or medications to the FAA, but toxicology identified sertraline. Personal records indicated longstanding asthma, impaired glucose metabolism (prediabetes), gastroesophageal reflux disease, mild hypertension, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. His doctor had prescribed Fluticasone Propionate and Sertraline for years. A burnt Fluticasone Propionate inhaler and an undamaged Albuterol Sulfate inhaler were found at the site. At his last primary care visit in March 2014, his conditions were stable.