Pilot Was Fatally Injured When Citation M2 Aircraft Went Down

The NTSB has issued a factual report for an accident which occurred April 15, 2018 that fatally injured the pilot of a Cessna Citation M2. The aircraft was destroyed after it impacted terrain near Crozet, Virginia. The private pilot was fatally injured.

Night IFR conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Richmond Executive–Chesterfield County Airport (KFCI), Richmond, Virginia, about 2035 and was destined for Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (KSHD), Weyers Cave, Virginia.

According to a friend of the pilot, the pilot had "a couple of drinks" while they were preparing dinner. The pilot left the friend's home about 1930. The pilot's friend thought that the pilot would be going to a hotel because it was getting dark, but FCI security video showed that the pilot arrived at the airport at 2002 and walked to the airplane at 2004. The pilot then walked around the airplane for about 3 minutes, boarded the airplane, closed the main cabin door, and initiated the engine start sequence at 2017. About 2 minutes later, the airplane began to taxi to the departure end of runway 15 and then taxied back to the departure end of runway 33. The takeoff roll began on runway 33 at 2033. The airport security video showed the windsock, which indicated that the wind favored a departure from runway 15. According to an airport line service employee, the airplane departed with a tailwind. The employee also stated that the pilot did not communicate on the Unicom frequency.

According to air traffic control data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a radar target identified as the accident airplane departed FCI and reached a maximum altitude of about 11,500 ft mean sea level (msl) at 2040. The airplane then began to descend and, at 2044, leveled off at an altitude of about 4,300 ft (which was below the minimum safe altitude of 5,700 ft msl for SHD). The airplane remained at 4,300 ft until 2053, when it began a descending left turn. The last two radar returns were 5 seconds apart and showed the airplane at 3,300 ft and 2,800 msl, which indicated that the airplane was descending about 6,000 ft per minute. Radar contact was lost at 2054. Throughout the flight, the pilot did not have any contact with air traffic control.

According to a witness near the accident location, he heard the "screaming of the engines" and then felt the terrain shake when the airplane impacted the ground. He stated that, at the time of the accident, the cloud ceiling was "really low," the winds were moderate, and heavy rain was occurring.

According to FAA airman records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. In addition, the pilot had a Cessna CE-525S type rating. The pilot was issued a third-class medical certificate on November 30, 2016. At that time, he reported 1,900 hours of total flight experience, of which 25 hours were within the previous 6 months.

According to the pilot's logbook, he had a total of 737.9 hours of flight time, of which 13.5 hours were in the 30 days before the accident. In addition, he reported 1.4 hours of instrument time in the previous 90 days, which included 9 instrument approaches. Since 2014, the pilot had flown 165.4 hours in the accident airplane. According to family members, the pilot flew to Richmond, Virginia, the day before the accident to perform a flight review on the afternoon of the accident date.

The recorded weather conditions at FCI about the time of departure indicated wind from 140° at 12 knots, 10 miles visibility, and broken cloud ceilings at 3,200 and 4,000 ft above ground level (agl). According to reviewed radar data, reflectivity values between 25 and 35 dBZ were located above the accident site at 2053, which corresponded with the surface observation precipitation reports from W13, SHD, and CHO. The reflectivity bands were moving from south-southwest to north-northeast between 2004 and 2103. The reflectivity targets indicated of moderate-to-heavy rain moving northward across the accident site at the accident time.

The accident airplane flew through a thunderstorm line between 2042 and 2047. There were no lightning strikes within 10 miles of the accident site about the accident time.

The Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Richmond, Virginia, performed the autopsy of the pilot. The autopsy report indicated that the pilot died as a result of multiple blunt force injuries.

Toxicology testing performed at the FAA's Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified ethanol (0.080 gm/hg, which equates to 0.080 gm/dl) and cetirizine in the pilot's muscle tissue.
Ethanol is the intoxicant commonly found in beer, wine, and liquor. It acts as a central nervous system depressant and impairs judgment, psychomotor functioning, and vigilance. The effects of ethanol on aviators are generally well understood: it significantly impairs a pilot's performance, even at very low levels. Title 14 CFR 91.17(a) prohibits any person from acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while having 0.040 gm/dl or more ethanol in the blood. In addition, the regulation states that no person can act as a crewmember of an aircraft within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage. Ethanol can also be produced in body tissues postmortem.

Cetirizine is a sedating antihistamine available over the counter and by prescription. It carries this warning for patients: "when using this product…drowsiness may occur…avoid alcoholic drinks…alcohol, sedatives, and tranquilizers may increase drowsiness…be careful when driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery."

(Source: NTSB Factual report. Image provided by the VA State Police)

FMI: Full report