History of Flight
On September 17, 2022, at approximately 1847 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Titan Tornado II airplane, registration N709RD, was substantially damaged in an accident near Citra, Florida. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The flight was conducted as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane departed Patch O Blue Airport (FD02), Orange Springs, Florida, around 1835. According to ADS-B track data from the FAA, the airplane made a left turn after takeoff, climbed to about 900 ft above mean sea level, and circled back toward the airport, appearing to make an approach. Track data was briefly lost, then reappeared on the other side of the airport with the airplane making a left climbing turn and circling back toward the departure point while climbing to just over 3,000 ft within a 1-mile area. The airplane then began to descend with varying ground speeds until the last track data showed a more significant descent rate. The final data point at 1846:47 indicated an altitude of 2,200 ft, groundspeed of 67 kts, on a heading of 227°, about 2.0 miles south of the departure point.
Personnel Information
The pilot was a former naval aviator with 18 years of service and subsequently an airline pilot for about 23 years. He held an airline transport pilot certificate with multi-engine land and commercial single-engine land and glider ratings, along with type ratings for B-737, B-757, B-767, BD500, and DC-9, and a flight engineer certificate. He also held sport pilot endorsements for single-engine sea and weight-shift-control land, as well as flight instructor and repairman certificates. At the time of the accident, he was on medical leave and did not possess a medical certificate. According to FAA records as of August 2022, he had accrued about 12,100 total flight hours, with about 36 hours in the previous 6 months. His last aviation medical examination was on August 25, 2022, at which he reported a history of depression, generalized anxiety, and high blood pressure, and was using quetiapine, lisinopril, escitalopram, and gabapentin. He had sustained a fall and mild closed head injury in February 2022 and was still in therapy. The aviation medical examiner deferred certification to the FAA due to ongoing therapy and medication use. At the time of the accident, FAA review of his application was pending.
Aircraft Information
The accident aircraft was a high-wing experimental amateur-built airplane assembled from a kit. It was issued a special airworthiness certificate on October 26, 2006. No maintenance records were recovered or provided during the investigation. According to the kit manufacturer, the airplane was designed to a +6g/-4g load limit at 1,000 pounds gross weight. Weight and balance data submitted by the original builder indicated an empty weight of 624 pounds, higher than the manufacturer's standard empty weight of 440 pounds, reducing useful load by 184 pounds. The manufacturer's acceptable center of gravity (CG) limits were 73 to 79 inches aft of datum. Calculations using the pilot's actual weight of 187 pounds and passenger's actual weight of 180 pounds showed the airplane was within lateral CG limits but over the manufacturer's published gross weight. With only the pilot and passenger and no fuel, the airplane would have been 9 pounds below gross weight.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination of the accident site revealed the airplane struck trees and came to rest inverted in a swamp within a heavily wooded area on a magnetic heading of about 270°. There was no debris path; the wreckage was partially submerged, with fuel odor and a fuel sheen on the water. Most of the structure was present. The tail boom was twisted and fractured near the fuselage attach point. The wings were partially separated from the fuselage. Control continuity was established from flight control surfaces to breaks in the system and from breaks to the cockpit controls. The throttle was in the closed (idle) position; the cabin door locking mechanism was closed. The fuel filter was free of debris, and the fuel line and filter contained clear, bright fuel. Examination of the 3-blade pusher propeller revealed one blade separated near the root consistent with impact damage; no leading-edge gouging or chordwise scratching was found on the separated blade or on one blade attached to the hub. The remaining blade was buried in muck and could not be examined. The engine was also buried and not examined. The wreckage was not recovered.
Witness Information
During an interview on December 8, 2022, a witness who lived near the accident pilot stated he heard the airplane and saw it flying over treetops at about 1,500 ft and a mile away. He believed the pilot appeared to be flying aggressively, possibly to show off. He observed the airplane enter what he thought was an intentional left barrel roll, completing a full 360° rotation. At the completion, the airplane was in a nose-down attitude, followed by a nose-up attitude. The airplane then entered a left spin. After 4 or 5 rotations, the engine sounded as if it was brought to idle power. He waited for full power to be reapplied but lost sight of the airplane as it spun below the tree line. He did not see or hear anything fall off during the barrel roll.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy determined the pilot's cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, with the manner of death accident. He had mild coronary artery disease with 30-40% stenosis of the distal left anterior descending and mid right coronary arteries, and moderate atherosclerotic disease of the abdominal aorta. A flabby myocardium was noted; no other significant natural disease was found. Postmortem toxicology testing detected delta-9-THC (38 ng/mL in cavity blood), carboxy-delta-9-THC (>500 ng/mL), 11-hydroxy-THC (>100 ng/mL), ethanol (0.055 g/dL in cavity blood), citalopram, quetiapine, and gabapentin in various specimens.
Additional Information
The operation involved 14 CFR 91.303 (aerobatic flight) and 91.307 (parachutes). Neither the pilot nor the passenger wore parachutes. Per 91.307, occupants must wear parachutes when executing maneuvers exceeding 60° bank or 30° nose-up/down attitude.