History of Flight
On July 18, 2021, at about 2040 central daylight time, a Luscombe 8F, registration N2054B, was destroyed in an accident near Comstock, Texas. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was being operated as a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. It had departed from Del Rio International Airport (DRT) around 2015. The wreckage was discovered by a landowner checking a fence; no witnesses reported seeing or hearing the accident.
Pilot Information
The pilot was a United States Air Force pilot. His total military flight experience was 2,084 hours, and his civilian flight time was 717 hours as of his most recent logbook entry on September 2, 2018.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located about 20 miles north-northwest of DRT. The airplane came to rest inverted on a magnetic heading of 202°. The propeller, found several feet forward of the nose, had chordwise scratching consistent with rotation. The propeller hub was split in half due to impact damage. Ground scarring was limited to areas under the propeller and airframe, with no scarring across the field. The fuselage, wings, and empennage sustained substantial damage. Crush damage to the nose and both wings was consistent with a wings-level, nearly vertical impact angle. All control surfaces remained with the fuselage at the accident site; both wing flaps were retracted. Postaccident examination confirmed continuity of flight control surfaces to cockpit controls, and all control system separations were consistent with overstress from impact forces. The engine crankcase was broken open, but internal components showed no failure. The tachometer indicated about 2,600 rpm, and its needle was deformed along the face.
Data downloaded from the pilot's watch indicated that he was maneuvering near the accident site for about 6 minutes before the airplane entered a steep descent over the site.
Medical and Pathological Information
The pilot's most recent third-class Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate was issued on December 27, 2006, at which time he reported no medication use and no active medical conditions. The Webb County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy; the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries and the manner was accident. The autopsy was limited by injury severity, with no major heart or brain structures described, and within this limitation, no significant natural disease was identified. Toxicological testing at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected ethanol in muscle (0.182 g/dL), heart (0.065 g/dL), and liver (0.034 g/dL); ethanol testing in brain was inconclusive. N-propanol and n-butanol were detected in muscle and heart. Diphenhydramine was detected in muscle and liver. Ethanol is the intoxicating alcohol in beverages; it can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. FAA regulations prohibit acting as a crewmember with a blood ethanol level of 0.04 g/dL or greater. Ethanol can also be produced postmortem by microbes. N-propanol and n-butanol are other alcohols that can be produced postmortem. Diphenhydramine is a sedating antihistamine that can cause drowsiness and impairment; the FAA advises pilots not to fly within 60 hours of its use.