What happened
On July 4, 2015, a Champion 7BCM, registration N10497, crashed into the 16th-tee box of the Northshore Gulf Course on Corpus Christi Bay in Portland, Texas. The aircraft was being operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91. At approximately 1420 CDT, the aircraft, which had departed from McCampbell-Porter Airport (TFP) in Ingleside, Texas, impacted the terrain in a steep, nose-down attitude.
Witnesses observed the aircraft flying at extremely low altitudes, ranging from 20 to 50 feet, along the shoreline. One witness reported seeing the airplane perform a loop maneuver that went inverted before nosediving into the ground. Another witness described the aircraft performing several "wing waves" before completing a partial loop and descending straight down. The impact resulted in 2 fatal injuries for the pilot and passenger.
The investigation
Post-impact examination of the airframe and engine showed no evidence of mechanical failure that would have prevented normal operation. The engine, a 95-horsepower Continental C90-8F, showed power train continuity, and the magnetos were functional. The propeller, a two-bladed wooden Sensenich, had one fractured blade and one cracked blade.
Flight control cables were found to be continuous from the cockpit to the control surfaces. While the wings and fuselage sustained extensive crushing and buckling, the wings remained attached to the fuselage.
Video recovered from the passenger's iPhone 5S showed the aircraft performing maneuvers, including an aileron or barrel roll, during which the aircraft lost altitude. The final video recorded at 13:28:10 CDT showed the aircraft in a slight nose-down descent with the engine at idle.
Toxicology results for the pilot revealed the presence of several substances, including ethanol, alprazolam (a benzodiazepine), hydrocodone (an opioid), and metabolites of cocaine.