Accident Overview
On July 8, 2022, at 1305 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Kolb Firestar II airplane, registration N6136Y, was substantially damaged after colliding with a hangar and terrain near Cleveland, Georgia. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight was operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Surveillance video from the airpark showed the airplane taking off on the grass runway. During initial climb, the pitch angle increased, and the airplane entered a steep left bank turn. It turned left about 180° and descended behind trees before impacting a hangar and then the ground, coming to rest in a residential driveway. The engine sounded normal from takeoff roll until impact. No post-impact fire occurred.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The airplane was constructed primarily of tube and fabric. The pilot/owner held a sport pilot certificate and based the aircraft at Mountain Airpark (OGE5) in Cleveland, Georgia. He was 79 years old and did not hold an FAA medical certificate but was eligible to fly as a light sport pilot with a valid driver’s license. According to his logbook, the last entry was on April 8, 2022, at which time he had logged 245.5 total flight hours, with 17.2 hours in the accident airplane. Before that entry, his last flight in the accident airplane was in February 2022.
Examination Findings
Postaccident examination revealed extensive damage. The cockpit area was crushed. Both wings remained attached but were pushed aft with leading-edge damage; the tail section had minor damage. Flight control continuity was established for the left wing and tail section, but the right aileron was fractured. A section of the right aileron push/pull tube separated and was found in the grass; fracture ends were consistent with overload. The engine sustained impact damage but compression was achieved on each cylinder when rotated. Fuel, ignition, cooling, and lubrication systems showed no anomalies. The two-bladed propeller remained secured, with leading-edge damage; one blade was twisted in its hub. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation were found.
Toxicology and Medical
An autopsy determined the pilot’s cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing on a hospital admission serum sample screened negative for drugs of abuse. Ketamine and its metabolite norketamine were detected in cavity blood and urine, but hospital records documented administration of ketamine, as well as diltiazem, propranolol, and famotidine, which were also detected and are considered non-impairing. Cetirizine, amitriptyline, and its metabolite nortriptyline were detected in urine but not in cavity blood; these were not administered at the hospital, and the pilot’s wife denied the pilot’s use of medications. The source of amitriptyline was likely from postaccident blood transfusions.