History of Flight
On July 4, 2015, about 1420 central daylight time, a Champion 7BCM, N10497, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the 16th-tee box of the Northshore Golf Course located on Corpus Christi Bay in Portland, Texas, while maneuvering at a low altitude. The pilot and passenger received fatal injuries. The airplane was owned by a private individual and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed McCampbell-Porter Airport (TFP), Ingleside, Texas, at an unknown time.
A witness reported observing the accident airplane flying about 100 feet above the bay and about 250 feet from the shoreline multiple times within the last month. On the day of the accident, the witness observed the airplane flying even lower over the bay – about 50 ft – but did not observe the accident.
Another witness reported seeing the airplane flying "right over the rooftop" of a home near the shoreline before turning north along the shoreline at a low altitude of 20 to 50 ft. Initially thinking the airplane was going to land, the witness then saw it go straight up into a loop maneuver, go upside down, and then "nosed dived" into the ground. A third witness said the airplane performed 3 to 4 "wing waves" before completing half of a loop, then went straight down.
Witnesses attempted to assist the pilot and passenger until local emergency responders arrived about 5 minutes later. The accident site was near a relative's home of the pilot, which overlooked the bay and the golf course.
Personnel Information
The 28-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane rating and a second-class medical certificate issued on July 18, 2014, with a restriction to wear corrective lenses. During the medical examination in July 2014, the pilot reported a total flight time of 700 hours.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a tandem two-seat, single-engine Champion 7BCM, serial number 47-934. It was equipped with a 95-horsepower Continental C90-8F engine, serial number 15452-9-8R, which powered a two-bladed wooden Sensenich propeller. The airplane's maintenance records were not obtained during the investigation.
Meteorological Information
The 1356 surface weather observation at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station (NGP), about 11 miles south of the accident site, reported: wind 150 degrees at 18 knots gusting to 25 knots; 10 miles visibility; few clouds at 2,100 ft; scattered clouds at 4,000 ft; temperature 31°C; dew point 26°C; altimeter 29.99 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane impacted the terrain in a steep, nose-down attitude. There was no post-impact ground fire. The engine compartment, fuselage, wings, and empennage exhibited extensive crushing and buckling but remained intact. The propeller and engine compartment were crushed up and aft from the impact. The wings remained attached to the fuselage. The right wing was broken and buckled forward about mid-span; the inboard leading edge rested over the engine compartment. The outboard leading edge of the right wing impacted the edge of the tee box where the terrain dropped about 3 ft. The left wing exhibited aft crushing along its outboard lower leading edge. The ailerons remained attached. The tail and empennage showed forward buckling; no impact damage was noted to the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. Flight control cable continuity was confirmed from all surfaces to their cockpit controls, and elevator trim continuity was confirmed.
Witnesses who arrived before emergency responders reported seeing fuel leaking from the wings and smelling fuel. Both wing fuel tanks were split open along the leading edge, and fuel blight was observed on the grass about 48 hours after the accident.
Engine examination revealed power train continuity when the propeller was turned. Thumb compression and suction were noted on all four cylinders, both magnetos fired, and spark plugs exhibited a light gray color with normal wear. The carburetor was broken at the air intake attachment; the bowl contained no fuel, and the floats were intact.
The two-bladed wooden Sensenich propeller had one blade fractured about mid-span, with the remaining portion splintered opposite the direction of rotation. The other blade remained intact but cracked along its span. The leading edge metal cap exhibited chordwise scratching.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the Medical Examiner of Nueces County, Texas, on July 6, 2015, determined the cause of death as blunt head trauma and the manner as accident. No significant natural disease was identified.
Toxicology testing by AIT labs identified multiple substances in femoral blood: alprazolam at 3.0 ng/ml, 7-aminoclonazepam at 12.2 ng/ml, benzoylecgonine at 116 ng/ml, hydrocodone at 18.7 ng/ml, and ethanol at 0.163 gm/dl. The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute prepared a Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report, noting ethanol levels of 153 mg/dL in femoral blood, 159 mg/dL in urine, and 160 mg/dL in vitreous. Other metabolites were detected in blood and urine.
The NTSB Chief Medical Officer provided information on the toxicology results, detailing the effects of the substances found. However, the investigation did not state a probable cause.
Tests and Research
The pilot's iPhone 6+ sustained severe internal damage, precluding data recovery. The passenger's iPhone 5S was undamaged and contained text messages, photos, and videos pertinent to the accident. In-flight videos from the passenger's phone showed: the male pilot without a shirt, an orange audio cable from his left front pants pocket plugged into his iPhone, and the pilot wearing a headset. The right side door of N10497 was missing. The female passenger wore a headset. Neither occupant wore a parachute. The videos depicted takeoff, rapid climb, right turn, descent to within 10 ft of grass and brush, climbing, flying through thin clouds, and one complete aileron or barrel roll followed by an attempted roll with altitude loss. The last video ended at 13:28:10 CDT as the aircraft descended in a slight nose-down attitude with the engine at idle. The accident was not captured.