Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Charleston International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cordesville, South Carolina 29434
Monday, October 13, 2003 19:57 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight was cleared to descend to 3,000 feet, the pilot acknowledged, and no further radio communication was received from the pilot. Radar data showed the last recorded position for the flight was approximately 20 miles northeast of the airport at 2,900 feet, then the target disappeared from radar. Two witnesses approximately two nautical miles east of the accident site reported hearing what sounded like "back fire," "fireworks," and "crackling." One witness reported he saw the airplane flying west over the treeline, then he heard the sound of an impact. The wreckage was found in a heavily wooded area amid charred trees and burned pine straw, the engines were embedded approximately five feet in the ground, and the chordline of the wings was approximately perpendicular to the ground. Examination of the airframe and engines revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction was observed. The toxicology report for the pilot stated "bupropion, bupropion metabolite, sertraline, and desmethylsertraline were detected in the liver, and bupropion metabolite and sertraline were detected in the kidney." A review of medical records maintained by the pilot's physician revealed the pilot had been prescribed drugs containing bupropion (Wellbutrin) and sertraline (Zoloft) to treat symptoms of depression. A physician's note dated July 14, 2003, stated, "Doing very well on Zoloft ... and Wellbutrin ... . Depression - stable." The records also revealed the pilot had a history of atrial fibrillation and was prescribed the drug sotalol. The pilot reported none of his medical diagnoses or medications on any applications for FAA Airman Medical Certificate.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent into trees and the ground. A factor was physical impairment.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/13/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1957 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Cordesville |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29434 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 330939N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0795006W |
| Event Location Airport | Charleston International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KCHS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 18.8 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 41 |
| Airport Elevation | 46 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1956 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 221 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KCHS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 46 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 19 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 9000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1219 |
| 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) | 17860 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 13 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2040 |
| 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 | Columbia FSDO - 13 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N63942 |
| NTSB Number | ATL04FA016 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-23-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 27-7854075 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5200 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 20 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4760.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Air Mango, Ltd. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | c/o Air Saint Thomas, 8100 Lindberg Bay |
| Aircraft Owner City | Saint Thomas |
| Aircraft Owner State | VI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 00802 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Gordon Larimore Gray III (president Air Mango Ltd) |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | Chez Virginie Leder |
| Operator City | Grand Ford, St. Barts |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | WN |
| Operator Zip code | 97133 |
| 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 | KHTO |
| Departure City | East Hampton |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1549 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KCHS |
| Destination City | Charleston |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Descent |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 5 2005 9:50AM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 7000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |