Little River Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mcalpin, Florida 32062
Saturday, September 21, 2002 11:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted terrain in a nose low pitch attitude after the private pilot lost control during a turn from base to final approach. Witnesses located at the arrival airport reported the accident airplane flew a fairly "tight" right downwind pattern for runway 36 that was a "little low" (about 650 to 750 feet above ground level [agl]). The surface winds were from the east, and according to the witnesses, the result was that the pilot overshot his turn to final approach. The pilot corrected back toward the centerline in a fairly steep bank when the airplane was observed to enter a roll to the right, the nose dropped toward the ground. The witnesses then lost sight of the airplane as it descended behind trees in a nose low pitch attitude. Witnesses estimated the altitude of the airplane at the time of the roll was between 300 and 350 feet agl. The private pilot flew the airplane once within the preceding 6 months and twice within the past 12 months. No anomalies with the airframe or engines were noted that would have prevented their normal operation. According to the fixed-based operator, where the airplane was based, fueling personnel added 10 gallons to each wing prior to the accident flight; however, they were not sure what the airplane's total fuel quantity was. The unusable fuel quantity was 6.1 gallons. The fuel consumption rate varied between 24.4 and 33.0 gallons per hour depending on the power setting, and the accident flight lasted 35 minutes. No fuel was found in the fuel system components for the right engine with the exception of the fuel manifold. It was possible that the right engine's fuel supply line may have become unported during the steep bank to final; however, with an unknown fuel quantity, this could not be determined conclusively. Toxicology tests performed on the pilot were positive for tramadol (prescription painkiller) and chlorpheniramine (antihistamine, commonly used in over-the-counter cold/allergy preparations). Side effects for the drugs include dizziness, sleepiness, and performance degradation for complex cognitive and motor tasks. It is likely the use of the two drugs impaired the pilot's judgment and performance in pre-flight planning and in the flight itself.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed to sustain controlled flight, which resulted in an inadvertent stall during a turn from base to final. A contributing factor was the pilot's use of judgment and performance impairing drugs.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/21/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1150
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City McAlpin
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32062
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 300606N
Event Location Longitude 0825405W
Event Location Airport Little River Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 195
Airport Elevation 94
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 155
Weather Observation Facility ID GNV
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 43
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18005
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr-SE
NTSB Notification Date Sep 21 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1340
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2005 10:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Tampa

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N86GW
NTSB Number MIA02FA170
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beagle Aircraft
Aircraft Model B-206 Series 2
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 046
Certified Max Gross Weight 7500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 12 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3.3
Airframe Hours 3381.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SMM, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2723 Holly Point Rd. E.
Aircraft Owner City Orange Park
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32073
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 23J
Departure City Jacksonville
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1115
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City McAlpin
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - base leg/base to final
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2005 10:28AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --