Accident Details
On October 28, 2016, at about 1845 central daylight time, an Aviat A-1C-180, registration N377MA, was destroyed when it struck trees and terrain while on approach to land at a private airstrip near Clarksville, Texas. The pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to ACME Husky, LLC and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from McCurtain County Regional Airport (4O4) in Idabel, Oklahoma, at an undetermined time.
The pilot was landing at the private strip to meet his girlfriend and her family. He performed a fly-by of the adjacent lodge before circling to land on the runway. His girlfriend witnessed the fly-by but not the accident. When the pilot did not land and come to the lodge, a search was initiated, and the aircraft was located that evening.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The aircraft was a 2008 Aviat A-1C-180 Husky, serial number 3005, with seating for two in tandem. It was a high-wing, strut-braced, fabric-covered monoplane with a conventional tail-dragger landing gear equipped with oversize tundra tires. The engine was a Lycoming O-360-A1P, rated at 180 horsepower, driving a two-blade MT Propellers constant-speed propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed on January 5, 2016, at 706.8 total hours in service. The recording hour meter read 741.7 hours at the accident site.
The pilot, aged 24, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument ratings. He had accumulated about 614 hours of total flight experience, including 447.9 hours in the accident aircraft. His most recent flight review was on June 23, 2014. The pilot's family owned the lodge and airstrip where the accident occurred. His logbook did not list flights into or out of the private strip, but much of the flight time in the accident aircraft was recorded as block time. He held a third-class medical certificate issued on July 17, 2012, valid until July 31, 2017, with no limitations.
Wreckage and Examination
The aircraft came to rest in a wooded area about 2,100 feet from the approach end of runway 24 and about 250 feet left of the extended centerline. Multiple broken branches indicated an impact direction of about 330°, consistent with a left base leg for runway 24. The fuselage was oriented on a heading of 135° with crush damage to the forward end, consistent with a steep nose-down impact. The aft fuselage was intact. The right wing was intact with leading edge denting; the left wing was structurally separated and inverted. Control system continuity was established except for an overload failure of the aileron balance cable. The engine was examined and found to be free to rotate with valve train continuity, suction and compression on all cylinders, and spark from both magnetos. The carburetor was clean with no water detected in the fuel. An autopsy attributed the pilot's death to injuries received in the accident, and toxicology testing was negative for all substances.