The Raven departed its home airport for a local flight near Mattituck, N.Y.
Radar data indicated that, about nine minutes after departure, the airplane was at 7,400 feet mean sea level (msl) and had begun a left 270° turn. The last radar return, which was recorded about a minute later, showed the airplane about 1,100 feet msl, which correlates to an approximate 6,000 foot-per-minute descent.
The airplane was found the following day floating on top of the water in a sound and was subsequently recovered.
The pilot’s parachute pack was found deployed and partially wrapped around the propeller. The airplane’s canopy was not present, however it was located several weeks later floating in the water.
A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any mechanical failure or anomaly that would have precluded normal operation.
The airplane’s calculated center of gravity (CG) was about 3 inches beyond the aft CG limit, which likely induced longitudinal instability and led to a subsequent deep, unrecoverable stall.
The canopy examination and the condition of the parachute pack indicated that the canopy was likely opened in flight. Therefore, the pilot likely recognized that the stall was unrecoverable and attempted to bail out of the airplane, but was unsuccessful.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to ensure that the airplane was loaded within its calculated center of gravity limits, which resulted in longitudinal instability and a subsequent unrecoverable stall.
NTSB Identification: ERA14LA330
This July 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
From the NTSB Factual report:
…the airplane’s maximum gross takeoff weight was 2,200 pounds and the designed center of gravity (CG) range was 95 to 99.5 inches aft of datum. Utilizing the computed information, the airplane’s weight at the time of takeoff was about 1,818 pounds and the CG was 102.2 inches aft of datum.
Forensic toxicology was performed on specimens from the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences
Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. …. The report listed the following drug
being detected:
– Tetrahydrocannabinol (Marihuana) detected in the blood (Heart)
– 0.005 (ug/ml, ug/g) Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid (Marihuana) detected in Urine
– 0.0015 (ug/ml, ug/g) Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid (Marihuana) detected in Blood (Heart)
Looks like the Dope was smokin’ dope, or eating THC infused edibles. It’s not a surprising outcome that he’d carelessly attempt flight with the calculated CG so far aft of the envelope.
The NTSB Probable cause stated he “probably” wasn’t impaired, but the fatal outcome of the flight resulting from his carelessness belies that very conservative NTSB finding.