ERA24FA294

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from clouds, resulting in controlled flight into terrain due to mountain obscuration.

The pilot believed that inclement weather had already passed his intended destination airport before he departed on the visual flight rules flight. While enroute, the airplane caught up with the back side of the storm and became surrounded by cloud cover. ADS-B data indicated the pilot performed two right 360° turns. During the second of these right 360° turns, a passenger texted photos of the weather surrounding the airplane to a family member. The airplane continued flying south for about 1 minute and began a third right 360° turn while initially climbing and then descending to an altitude of 1,700 ft above mean sea level (msl), about 300 ft above ground level (agl). Toward the end of the flight, the airplane encountered rising terrain due to a mountain in the flight path that was likely obscured by clouds. The pilot deviated to the left, then started another climbing right 360° turn before descending. Based on reported weather conditions at the time of the accident, the pilot likely climbed into instrument meteorological conditions in close proximity to the mountain. The final turn arced toward the mountain and began a descent until the airplane struck the mountain in a wings-level, nose-low attitude at an elevation of 2,000 ft msl. Review of the pilot’s logbooks revealed that, even though he was instrument rated, he did not have the required currency. Available specimens for ethanol testing were limited to a brain tissue specimen and a liver tissue specimen. Ethanol was detected in only one of these specimens, in which n-propanol was also present, consistent with postmortem microbial activity. Considering this evidence in context of the pilot’s extensive injuries, it is likely that the detected ethanol was from postmortem sources rather than alcohol consumption. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Along with his flight certificates the pilot was also a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic. The pilot’s most recent flight log entries indicated a total flight time of 1,098.3 hours, including 32.5 hours of actual instrument time and 75.6 hours of simulated instrument time. His last FAA second-class medical certificate was issued with a limitation for corrective lenses to meet vision standards at all required distances. Review of the pilot’s flight logbook dating back to November 19, 2023, did not show evidence of instrument currency in the 6 months prior to the accident flight. The airplane was configured as a skydiving airplane by removing the passenger seats and modifying the right cabin door into a swing-up jump door. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by Autopsy Service at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, which is designated as the Regional Autopsy Center for Rutherford County by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was an accident. Due to the extent of the 59-year-old male pilot’s injuries, his autopsy, including examination of his heart, brain, and lungs, was markedly limited for evaluation of natural disease. Within this limitation, no significant natural disease was identified. Postmortem toxicological testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected ethanol at 0.042 g/hg in brain tissue (in tissue, concentrations in g/hg are approximately equivalent to concentrations in g/dL). N-propanol was also detected in brain tissue. Neither ethanol nor n-propanol was detected in liver tissue. The laboratory determined that available blood was unsuitable for analysis. No urine or vitreous fluid was available for testing. Ethanol – Ethanol is the intoxicating alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, and, if consumed, can impair judgment, psychomotor performance, cognition, and vigilance. FAA regulation imposes strict limits on flying after consuming ethanol, including a prohibition on piloting a civil aircraft while having a blood ethanol level of 0.04 g/dL or greater. Alcohol consumption is not the only possible source of ethanol in postmortem specimens. Ethanol sometimes may be produced by microbes in a person’s body tissues and fluids after death. Postmortem ethanol production is made more likely by extensive traumatic injury, which can spread microbes. N-propanol – N-propanol is another alcohol that can be produced by microbes in a person’s body tissues and fluids after death. Detection of n-propanol in a postmortem specimen potentially is indicative of postmortem microbial activity in the specimen, with or without associated ethanol production. On July 7, 2024, about 2107 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182A airplane, N2198G, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Rutherfordton, North Carolina. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. The pilot flew the airplane to Johnson County Airport (6A4), Mountain City, Tennessee, from Rutherford County/Marchman Field (FQD), Rutherfordton, North Carolina, on the morning of the accident for the purpose of skydiving operations. According to the owner of the skydiving operation, the pilot completed jump operations about 1945 and was returning to FQD when the accident occurred. Before the flight back to FQD, the owner of the skydiving operation, the pilot, and the two skydiving instructors who were passengers on the accident flight discussed the weather that was over FQD during the day. They had three plans in place. The first one was for the owner to drive them back to FQD, and the pilot would pick the airplane up on another day. The second was to fly to FQD. The third was to divert to Asheville, North Carolina, in case the weather had not cleared over FQD.  The owner of the skydiving operation reported that the pilot then checked the weather one last time and decided it had just cleared at FQD, so he decided to fly there. They still discussed diverting to Asheville, North Carolina, in case the weather they encountered was different from what he saw on the radar. The pilot and the two skydiving instructors then departed 6A4 shortly before 2030. The airplane was topped off with fuel prior to the departure. At 2044 the owner of the skydiving operation exchanged text messages with one of the skydiving instructors onboard the airplane, who responded that the flight was going as planned and they were heading to FQD. The owner sent another text message to the skydiving instructor about 2200, but did not receive a response. She reported that she did not think anything more about it since she thought he was likely driving back to his house. The next day, she was awoken about 0400 by a call from the pilot’s wife, who advised her that he had not come home. According to a witness who lived on top of a hill about 3 miles east-northeast of Marion, North Carolina, he frequently noticed airplanes flying into and out of Shiflet Field (9A9), Marion, North Carolina. On the day of the accident, he noticed an airplane flying north to south. He was outside of his house when he heard the airplane. He reported that “the engine sounded strong,” that the airplane was about a half a mile west of his position, and that there was a “cloud ceiling.” The airplane was under the clouds, about 1,500 ft above him. The airplane did not bank or turn at that time. He reported that “storms” had come through the area about 1700 to 1900, and the heaviest of the storms was over. He also reported that there was a lot of moisture and fog. According to radar data, after departing 6A4, the airplane turned south, and the first ADS-B track data was recorded at 2030:59 when the airplane was at 3,425 ft msl, with a ground speed of 82 kts. The airplane then traveled out of radar coverage, and when track data resumed at 2055:38, the airplane was on a track of 151° at 5,800 ft msl, with a ground speed of 118 kts. The airplane then entered a descending right spiral before proceeding south. The airplane entered another descending spiral, during which a passenger sent two photos via text message to a family member. The view of the photos was out the left side of the airplane, showing the airplane surrounded by cloud cover and included the statement, “Flying over mountains and can’t see sheet.” The airplane then headed south again. Figure 1. Radar track showing the flight path from the beginning of the right 360° turns to the end of the flight track. The airplane made a turn to the left and began a climbing right turn until it reached an altitude of 2,250 ft msl. The airplane continued its right turn and began a descent until it impacted terrain at an altitude of about 2,000 ft msl. Figure 2. End of the flight track showing low-altitude flight with a left turn followed by an ascending right 360° turn over rising terrain, with the track ending with a descent into terrain. The pilot did not file a flight plan and was not in communication with air traffic control. Examination of the accident site and wreckage revealed signatures consistent with the airplane impacting the mountainous terrain in a wings-level, nose-low attitude on an approximate heading of 130°, at an altitude of about 2,000 ft msl. Terrain signatures were consistent with the airplane first impacting a tall tree, followed by a second shorter thicket of trees, and then dense brush and terrain. The airplane left an impact crater where the propeller was found, and the main wreckage was located 50 ft further along the wreckage path. The airplane was subject to a post-impact fire, and most of the fuselage and cockpit were thermally damaged. The empennage was impact and thermally separated near the baggage compartment bulkhead. The empennage