ERA23FA209

The pilot’s spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of airplane control, which resulted in an in-flight overload separation of the right wing during the uncontrolled descent.

The pilot was approaching his destination airport under instrument flight rules (IFR) and in instrument meteorological conditions. The air traffic controller issued a northeasterly heading for the pilot to intercept the final approach course. The controller then informed the pilot that he would be vectored through the final approach course to accommodate preceding traffic. The controller then instructed the pilot to turn right to a southwesterly heading. The controller observed the airplane descending and a low altitude alert activated. The controller instructed the pilot to maintain 3,000 ft. The pilot read back the altitude; this was the last transmission from the pilot. The controller then instructed the pilot to fly a westerly heading and no further responses were received from the pilot. Track data revealed that the airplane continued in a right, descending turn until radar contact was lost. The outboard section of the right wing and the right flap separated in flight and the airplane impacted a farm field. Postaccident examination of the airframe, engine, and propeller did not reveal evidence of a pre-existing mechanical malfunction or anomaly that would have precluded normal operation. All fracture surfaces on the separated right wing section displayed fracture features that were consistent with overstress-induced separation. The weather conditions at the time, in addition to the successive heading changes given to the pilot, were conducive to the onset of spatial disorientation. Although one of the pilot’s toxicology specimens tested positive for gabapentin, a disqualifying medication that can cause dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, and sedation, the pilot’s passenger (his spouse) was prescribed the medication and intermingling and contamination of the samples were possible; therefore, it is unlikely that the pilot had taken the medication.

The closest airport to the accident site was Athens Ben Epps Airport (AHN), Athens, Georgia. At 1451, AHN reported clouds broken at 1,300 ft and overcast at 2,200 ft, with wind from 050° at 11 knots. The weather at the pilot’s destination airport, WDR, at 1435 included instrument meteorological conditions with a ceiling of 600 ft overcast and wind from 070° at 4 knots. The accident site was located in a cool airmass between the two fronts and south of a high-pressure ridge. The station models surrounding the accident site depicted northeasterly wind of 10 knots or less, broken to overcast cloud cover, with temperatures in the mid to upper 50's to low 60's degrees Fahrenheit, with several stations over northern and western Georgia, northern Alabama, western South Carolina, and Tennessee reporting light rain. The pilot’s logbook was not located. His total flight time was derived from his FAA medical certificate application, dated August 22, 2021. A hand-written airplane flight log was found with the wreckage and the last page of the log contained an entry for the accident flight. According to the log, the pilot recorded about 52.4 hours flight time in the accident airplane since August 22, 2021. According to the airplane’s maintenance records, FAA Airworthiness Directive 2023-02-27 and Textron Aviation Single Engine Service Letter 57-09 Rev. 1, eddy current inspection of the carry-through spar lower surface kick area, was accomplished on April 11, 2023, with no discrepancies found. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Division of Forensic Sciences, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The autopsy report was reviewed by the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was extensive blunt impact injuries, and the manner of death was accident.  Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory found dextromethorphan, dextrorphan, loratadine, desloratadine, timolol, atorvastatin, acetaminophen, pramoxine, and gabapentin in at least one tested tissue specimen from the pilot; for the gabapentin, only the liver tissue specimen was positive for the pilot. The pilot's testing also detected ethanol at 0.012 g/hg in liver tissue; ethanol was not detected in his muscle tissue. Due to the nature of the accident site, several of the specimens submitted for testing were comingled with those of the passenger. The detected substances were not substances that are typically impairing, except for ethanol and gabapentin. Gabapentin was also detected in the pilot-rated passenger, who was the pilot’s spouse. Scene photographs of recovered medications revealed that she was prescribed gabapentin. Only one specimen from the pilot tested positive for gabapentin, and reviewed pharmacy records did not show him as being prescribed this medication. Gabapentin is used for seizure disorders, neuropathies and restless leg syndrome (RLS). It has a high rate of impairing side-effects including dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, and sedation. Regular use for any reason is disqualifying. Although ethanol was detected in the pilot’s liver tissue, it was not detected in his muscle tissue. The main wreckage site was located in an open farm field, about 1.2 miles northwest of Watkinsville. The right wing separated in flight, at about the mid-length section of the right flap, and came to rest in a wooded area about 988 ft west of the main wreckage. The separated wing section was close to the coordinates of the last ADS-B data point. The right flap also separated in flight and came to rest in the top of a yellow pine tree, about 90 ft above the ground and 428 ft west of the separated right wing section. The area on the ground between the separated right wing and the main wreckage included numerous windshield fragments and lightweight debris. The initial ground impact area exhibited a left-wing leading edge imprint, a crater with the separated and buried propeller blades, three ground scars consistent with the left and right main landing gear wheels and the nose wheel, and an imprint consistent with the inboard section of the right wing’s leading edge. The highly fragmented wreckage was dispersed on a magnetic heading of 137°. Along the debris path, the engine and the lower section of the cockpit came to rest about 36 ft from the initial ground impact point. The empennage came to rest about 22 ft from the engine. The left wing and the top section of the cockpit came to rest about 60 ft from the empennage. The right main landing gear wheel was found about 135 ft from the left wing. The wreckage was recovered to a salvage facility where an additional examination was performed. All primary (elevators, ailerons, and rudder) flight control surfaces with their appropriate trim tabs and flaps were accounted for at the wreckage examination. Continuity of the elevator/stabilator and rudder primary flight control cables was confirmed from the cockpit to their respective flight control surfaces. The elevator/stabilator trim actuator extension was measured and found to be about 1.5 inches, which corresponded to about 10º trim tab trailing edge down. Continuity of the elevator/stabilator trim control cables was confirmed from the cockpit to the flight control trim surface. Continuity was confirmed by either visual and/or manual manipulation of the cables. The aileron primary flight control cables were confirmed from the cockpit to their respective flight control surfaces, with cable separations at the right-wing separation and at the cockpit; all cable separations exhibited signatures consistent with tensile overload. The flap actuator extension was measured and found to be about 4 inches, which corresponded to the fully retracted position. The damage was consistent with the outboard section of the right wing separating from the airplane in flight. The lower section of the right wing’s main spar separated about 51.5 inches outboard from the wing attachment point. The upper section of the right wing’s main spar separated about 78.5 inches outboard from the wing attachment point. Both separations exhibited signatures consistent with tension overload. With the separated right wing positioned upright on a flat, concrete surface at the recovery facility, the wing was bowed upward near the mid-section. With the carry-through spar positioned upright, the spar was bowed aft. One of the carry-through spar lightening holes was cracked: the first lightening hole left of the center line, which was cracked up to and along the top of the spar. In the same location, a section of the spar upper forward flange was partially separated and bowed/buckled upward. The lightening hole crack and the spar flange separation both exhibited signatures consistent with tension overload. A section of the right wing’s inboard leading edge, about 30 inches long, separated from the wing. The leading edge exhibited skin tearing, crushing, and buckling. The leading-edge wing attachment link to the fuselage remained intact and attached to a section of the forward cockpit structure. The leading-edge attachment and the cockpit section were canted aft and up. The engine was found separated from the airframe and inverted on the grass about 36 ft from the initial impact crater. The following items were impact-separated from the engine and found along the wreckage debris path: the oil sump, carburetor, induction air box, air filter, exhaust muffler and exhaust tubing parts, induction tubing parts, both magnetos, propeller governor, engine-driven fuel pump, starter and the alternator. Valvetrain continuity was confirmed. Compression and suction were confirmed on three of the four cylinders; the fourth cylinder exhibited impact damage. The carburetor floats exhibited inward hydraulic deformation. The crankshaft was rotated by means of a tool inserted into the vacuum pump drive pad. Continuity of the crankshaft to the rear gears