History of Flight
On August 9, 2015, at approximately 2050 central daylight time, a Grumman AA-5A airplane, registration N9684U, impacted terrain in the Shawnee National Forest near Harrisburg, Illinois. The student pilot and passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated by a private individual under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Marion-Crittenden County Airport (5M9) in Marion, Kentucky, around 2030, destined for Williamson County Regional Airport (KMWA) in Marion, Illinois.
No radio contact with air traffic control was made. An unconfirmed message from the pilot to his spouse at about 2045 indicated he intended to return to the departure airport. The wreckage was located on August 10 in a heavily wooded area of the national forest. Radar searches found no primary or secondary targets matching the accident airplane, and the exact route could not be determined.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 36, held a combined student pilot and second-class medical certificate issued on May 21, 2015. At the time of the medical application, he reported 30 hours of total flight time, with 20 hours in the preceding six months. The pilot's logbook was not recovered, so his total experience, recent instruction, solo endorsement status, and night flying experience could not be determined. The passenger held no pilot rating, and the student pilot was not authorized to carry passengers.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was a 1975 Grumman AA-5A, serial number AA5A-0050, powered by a 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320-E2G engine driving a two-bladed fixed-pitch McCauley propeller. The airplane's logbooks were not found, and its maintenance history was unestablished. A September 2013 auction listing reported engine hours at 7,578, as seen in an instrument panel photo.
Meteorological Information
At 1900, a low-pressure system with a frontal wave was over western Illinois. A warm stationary front near the accident site had potential for partly cloudy skies. The nearest weather reporting station, Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport (HSB) about 15 nautical miles north, reported at 2035: wind from 070° at 3 knots, visibility 5 miles in mist, clear sky, temperature and dew point 77°F, barometric pressure 29.91 inHg.
Satellite data at 2035 placed the accident site ahead of a large mesoscale convective system (MCS), defined as a collection of thunderstorms acting as a system. Astronomical data showed the moon had set at 1648 and was below the horizon at the time of the accident. There was no evidence the pilot received a weather briefing.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The debris path began with broken tree tops and airplane wing parts suspended in trees and on the ground. Approximately 55 yards from the initial tree strikes, following a magnetic heading of about 320°, an impact crater about 2.5 feet deep held the main wreckage partially outside the crater. The debris field extended another 25 yards. Impact signatures indicated the airplane struck the ground at least 25° nose low.
Right wing components were near the tree strikes, with left wing parts closer to the crater. The engine and propeller were at the crater's bottom, with the fuselage and empennage resting atop. Both wings were fragmented. Reconstructed flight controls showed no preimpact damage. The engine was examined to the crankshaft with no anomalies found. The propeller remained attached; one blade was curled rearward with chordwise scratches and polishing, the other straight with light polishing. No preimpact anomalies were detected in the airframe or engine.
Most cockpit instrumentation was destroyed. The ignition switch was in the both position. The turn-and-slip indicator showed a 45° right bank. The altimeter's Kollsman window read 29.92. The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) was found separated, with its switch in the OFF position; soil deposits prevented determination of its preimpact position.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Pope County Coroner's Office did not perform an autopsy, deeming it unnecessary due to the high-velocity impact. A few milliliters of putrefied blood were sent to the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for toxicology. Testing detected 29 mg/dL of ethanol.