Redcrest, CA, USA
UNREG
Hy-Tek Hurricane
The noncertificated pilot was returning from a 20-minute flight in an unregistered amateur-built airplane when a witness heard the engine sputtering. The witness reported that the engine quit shortly thereafter and that the airplane subsequently nosed down and collided with the river shoreline. Law enforcement personnel reported that the airplane wreckage had been moved before their arrival at the accident site. The pilot's body was not within the wreckage when they arrived, and an extensive search was initiated. The body was located several days later downstream of the accident site. The accident was not reported to the National Transportation Safety Board until several weeks after the wreckage had been recovered to the pilot's residence. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that airframe and engine components had been removed and disassembled postaccident and prior to an inspection. Consequently, the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. A family member reported that the pilot had accumulated about 2 hours of total flight experience in the accident airplane make and model. The investigation did not identify any other flight time information, therefore the pilot's ability to respond to an emergency, such as a loss of engine power, could not be determined. Toxicology testing on the pilot's specimens was positive for methamphetamine and ethanol. The effects of methamphetamine "high" and "crash" are impairing; thus, pilots are not permitted to operate aircraft while using methamphetamine. Although ethanol can be produced postmortem, the ethanol detected in the pilot's specimens had likely been ingested given the statement from the pilot's wife that he was under the influence on the day of the accident. Therefore, the pilot was likely impaired by the effects of methamphetamine and alcohol, which contributed to the pilot's ability to maintain airplane control following the loss of engine power.
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 4, 2017, about 0945 Pacific daylight time, an unregistered experimental amateur-built Hy-Tek Hurricane airplane collided with terrain during the final approach to landing on a riverbed near Redcrest, California. The noncertificated pilot received fatal injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was owned by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight, which departed about 0925 from a sandbar on the river, which was near the pilot's home in Redcrest. The pilot's father reported that, about 20 minutes after the flight departed, he heard the airplane returning to the area and noted that the engine was sputtering. He reported that the engine quit shortly thereafter and that the airplane subsequently nosed down into the ground along the shoreline of the Eel River. Personnel from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, Eureka, California, responded to the accident site about 1130. A deputy officer reported that the airplane wreckage had been brought to the shoreline of the Eel River by unknown subjects before he arrived on scene and that the pilot's body was not located within the wreckage. On May 14, 2017, after an extensive search by the sheriff's office and volunteers, the pilot's body was recovered in a shallow area of the Eel River about 2.5 miles downriver from the accident site. On June 15, 2017, the pilot's father reported the accident to the National Transportation Safety Board. During a postaccident interview, the pilot's wife reported that her husband had a problem with drugs and alcohol and that he was under the influence the day of the accident. She also expressed concerns about her husband performing maintenance on the airplane on the day before the accident while under the influence. She stated that he was attempting to troubleshoot and possibly repair a carburetor problem. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONAccording to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) pilot database, the pilot did not have a pilot certificate or a medical certificate. According to his father, the pilot had about 2 hours of total flight experience in the accident airplane make and model. The investigation did not identify any other flight time information. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane had a high-wing, ultralight-like design with conventional flight controls. The structure consisted of an uncovered aluminum and steel tube framework with a single seat and a tricycle landing gear. The airplane was equipped with oversized tundra-style tires and was powered by a Rotax 503, 50-horsepower, 2-cylinder, 2-stroke engine that was mounted on top of the airframe. Preaccident photographs of the airplane showed a fuel tank that was larger than the manufacturer's 5-gallon fuel tank. Logbook maintenance records were not located. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane had a high-wing, ultralight-like design with conventional flight controls. The structure consisted of an uncovered aluminum and steel tube framework with a single seat and a tricycle landing gear. The airplane was equipped with oversized tundra-style tires and was powered by a Rotax 503, 50-horsepower, 2-cylinder, 2-stroke engine that was mounted on top of the airframe. Preaccident photographs of the airplane showed a fuel tank that was larger than the manufacturer's 5-gallon fuel tank. Logbook maintenance records were not located. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane wreckage had been recovered on the day of the accident by family and friends of the pilot and was stored at the pilot's residence. On June 26, 2017, an FAA inspector from the Oakland, California, Flight Standards District Office examined the wreckage. The instrument panel, wings, fuel tank, propeller, propeller hub, wheel assemblies, and one of the two carburetors/air filters had been removed postaccident and prior to the FAA's inspection. The brake handle had been disconnected, and three of the four spark plugs were missing. Some wiring and fuel lines had been cut, and the control cables had been disconnected. The pistons in the engine did not move, but the inspector observed no damage or excessive discoloration. The available spark plugs showed a normal burn pattern. The lead shielding/insulation for the spark plugs was in poor condition; numerous wires were improperly spliced and routed. The rubber exhaust mounts were also in poor condition. Fuel, water, and oil were found in the engine. The fuel filter was clean. The throttle was in the fully open position, and the ignition switch was on. The carburetors and air filters were intact, but the float bowls were missing. One of the two main carburetor fuel jets was missing; the pilot's father stated that one of the fuel jets was loose and fell out of the wreckage when it was moved. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATIONAn autopsy was performed by the Office of the Coroner, Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. The pilot's cause of death was drowning; blunt force trauma contributed to the death. Toxicology performed by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office detected, in the pilot's specimens, ethanol in tissue at 0.08 gm/100 gm and methamphetamine at 0.70 mg/kg and its primary active metabolite, amphetamine, at less than 0.10 mg/kg in muscle tissue. Because of the delay in reporting the accident to the NTSB, no specimens were available for testing by the FAA's Forensic Sciences Laboratory. Ethanol is commonly found in beer, wine, and liquor. It acts as a central nervous system depressant. After ingestion, ethanol impairs judgment, psychomotor functioning, and vigilance. The effects of ethanol on aviators are generally well understood; it significantly impairs pilot performance, even at very low levels. Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations 91.17, Alcohol or Drugs, paragraph (a)(4), prohibits any person from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while having 0.04 gm/dl or more ethanol in the blood. Methamphetamine is a controlled substance that is used to treat certain medical conditions, but the drug can also be misused. Symptoms of recreational methamphetamine include motor restlessness, hallucinations, delusions, fatigue or drowsiness, and poor impulse control. As the initial effects wear off, users commonly experience dysphoria, restlessness, agitation, and nervousness; they may experience paranoia, violence, aggression, a lack of coordination, delusions, psychosis, and drug craving. Blood levels cannot be used to distinguish among phases of methamphetamine use. Because the effects of methamphetamines are impairing, methamphetamine use is a disqualifying factor for FAA medical certification.
The noncertificated pilot's impairment from methamphetamine and alcohol use, which precluded the pilot from maintaining control of the airplane after a loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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