Accident Overview
On September 21, 2020, at approximately 1437 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Vans RV8 airplane, registration N800PB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hilliard, Florida. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Flight History
According to the accident pilot’s son, they had flown together earlier in the day from Flagler Executive Airport (FIN), Palm Coast, Florida, to Polk County Airport (4A4), Cedartown, Georgia. The son had purchased another airplane and planned to fly it to New Jersey, while the accident pilot intended to return to FIN. They departed 4A4 around 1330; the accident pilot flew south toward FIN, and the son turned north toward New Jersey. The son stated that he frequently flew the accident pilot’s airplane and that it operated with no anomalies.
Witness Account
A witness standing in her front yard heard an airplane flying overhead and noted that the engine was “popping” as if backfiring. She observed the airplane at an estimated altitude of 500 ft above ground level, appearing “very low.” The airplane disappeared behind trees, and shortly thereafter she heard it hitting tree branches. She located the wreckage, called 911, and waited for emergency responders.
Examination of Airplane
Postaccident examination revealed that the fuselage was consumed by fire, and the instrument panel was destroyed. No usable instruments were identified. The wings remained attached and exhibited leading-edge damage on both sides; the ailerons and flaps remained attached. Flight control continuity was established from all control surfaces through the torque tubes, though cuts to the tubes had been made by recovery personnel.
Heavy black soot coated the entire engine compartment. Smoke striations from the cowling into the cockpit were consistent with an in-flight fire. The top spark plugs were removed, and the engine crankshaft was rotated by the propeller. Thumb compression was established on cylinders Nos. 1, 3, and 4. Crankshaft continuity was established through the engine. The right magneto impulse coupling activated when the propeller was rotated; the left magneto was an electronic style.
Engine Examination
All top spark plug wires were destroyed in the fire, and the fuel injection system was consumed. A large hole was observed in the crankcase half near the No. 2 cylinder. The No. 2 connecting rod remained attached to the piston, but the piston was seized inside the cylinder, and the rod end was distorted and damaged. The oil sump contained fragments of the No. 2 connecting rod bearing and other metallic debris. The oil pump and gears exhibited no scoring, and the oil sump screen was debris-free. The oil lines were consumed by fire, though a small amount of oil remained in the system.
The engine was sent to the manufacturer for further examination. The main journal bearings were worn, with no fretting observed on the crankcase halves. The connecting rod bearings were worn; the No. 2 bearing was the most damaged, followed by Nos. 3, 4, and 1. The No. 2 connecting rod and cap also showed lubrication distress.
Maintenance records indicated that on September 1, 2005, the No. 2 cylinder was removed due to lack of compression and reinstalled on September 28, 2005, at a total time of 101.2 hours. On December 11, 2007, the engine was removed and repaired after a propeller strike at 198.7 total hours; one connecting rod was replaced along with its bolts and nuts. In June 2008, the engine received a 100-hour inspection. Logbooks for 2008 to 2016 were not located. From 2017 to 2020, the engine underwent normal inspections per 14 CFR 43 Appendix D with no anomalies. The last inspection on June 29, 2020, recorded a total time of 673.2 hours.
Medical Examiner and Toxicology
According to the Office of the Medical Examiner, Jacksonville, Florida, the cause of the pilot’s death was thermal injuries with contributory causes of smoke inhalation, blunt impact trauma, and hypertensive and arteriosclerotic heart disease; the manner was accident. The medical examiner reported an enlarged heart (540 grams), right ventricle wall thickness of 0.5 cm, and 50–75% atherosclerotic narrowing of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Soot was detected in the pilot’s airways.
FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory toxicology testing detected carboxyhemoglobin at 15–16% and cyanide (420 and 650 ng/mL in heart blood). The non-impairing medication minoxidil was detected in the pilot’s blood and urine. Toxicology testing by the medical examiner’s office detected carboxyhemoglobin at 15% and caffeine.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced by combustion, such as from an exhaust system or fire. Carboxyhemoglobin forms when CO binds to hemoglobin.