Pilot’s Intentional Flight Into Terrain As An Act Of Suicide

Location: Mammoth Springs, Arkansas Accident Number: CEN23FA155
Date & Time: April 13, 2023, 13:30 Local Registration: N5545
Aircraft: Junior Ace Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Low altitude operation/event Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Analysis: The airplane, which was owned by the pilot, took off from a private airstrip and flew to a rock quarry. Witnesses saw the airplane circle around the quarry several times. One witness saw the airplane fly directly into the quarry and collide with a rock wall. The wreckage was located directly below and adjacent to a 75-ft rock wall. The damage to the wreckage was consistent with a high-energy impact. Examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation.

Postmortem toxicological testing detected ethanol at 0.048 g/dl, along with n-propanol, in the blood cavity. Neither ethanol nor n-propanol was detected in vitreous fluid. Detection of npropanol in a postmortem specimen is potentially indicative of postmortem microbial activity in the specimen but does not necessarily mean that microbial activity produced ethanol. These findings suggest that the ethanol detected was likely from postmortem production, not alcohol consumption.

Following a death investigation, local law enforcement and the local the coroner classified the manner of death as a suicide.

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s intentional flight into terrain as an act of suicide.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov