Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB CEN13FA078
Taylorcraft BC12-D — Clutier, IA
| Date | November 28, 2012 |
| Location | Clutier, IA |
| Aircraft | Taylorcraft BC12-D |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 69 |
| Pilot total time | 700 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1, 1 serious |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Expectation/assumption-Pilot - F
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Contributed to outcome - F
What happened
The airplane was on approach to an unimproved airstrip when it struck power lines and then impacted terrain. The pilot had previously flown into this airstrip but had not done so recently. When the field was previously used as an airstrip, the power lines were buried; however, the power lines had recently been moved above ground. The pilot may not have been aware that the power lines had been moved above ground, and the lines were not marked. The surviving passenger stated that he never saw the power lines before the airplane struck them.
The pilot's medical records revealed diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and bipolar disease. Toxicology testing showed the presence of medications consistent with the treatment of these conditions. Although the pilot’s medical records and toxicology results indicated that the pilot had recently stopped taking some medications that could have adversely affected his performance, his bipolar disease would have had significant negative effects on cognition, including memory and executive functioning/judgment, and would have been disqualifying for a medical certification. Therefore, although it is possible that the pilot's underlying psychiatric disease and its treatment may have affected his judgment, it is not possible to determine the extent to which it may have contributed to the accident.