Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Madison Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Madison, Indiana 47250
Monday, April 19, 2010 10:38 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness to the accident said that the he heard the airplane’s engine "rev up" then saw the airplane pitch up, roll to the right into an inverted position, and nose dive toward the ground. Impact evidence showed that the airplane struck the ground in a near vertical attitude at a high rate of speed. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions or failures; however, the amount of destruction to the airplane precluded a comprehensive determination of its preimpact condition. Review of the pilot’s medical history revealed that over the few weeks before the accident, the pilot had developed neurologic symptoms, including increasing memory problems. During a doctor’s visit, he reported at least one acute episode where he felt confused and had some instability or balance problems. The exact cause of these symptoms and their degree was not determined because a thorough medical evaluation was not completed before the accident. In addition, toxicological test results showed that the pilot had been taking sedating medications that could impair his mental and/or physical ability. The medications were not approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for pilots’ use, and the pilot did not report using them to the FAA.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to conduct the flight with known physiological impairment and his use of unapproved sedating medication, both of which likely impaired his ability to operate the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/19/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1038 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Madison |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 47250 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Madison Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IMS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 4 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 819 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LOU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 819 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 34 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.14 |
| 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) | 31299 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-AGL-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 10 2013 11:16AM |
| User who most recently changed record | coln |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5425P |
| NTSB Number | CEN10LA216 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-24-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-479 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 19 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2599 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RILEY HENRY S |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 188 THORNTON RD APT 307 |
| Aircraft Owner City | HANOVER |
| Aircraft Owner State | IN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 47243-9717 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | RILEY HENRY S |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 188 THORNTON RD APT 307 |
| Operator City | HANOVER |
| Operator State | IN |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 47243-9717 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | IMS |
| Departure City | Madison |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | IMS |
| Destination City | Madison |
| Destination State | IN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 27 2013 5:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | brajo |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |