Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB CEN14FA084
PIPER PA 24-250 — Collbran, CO
| Date | December 12, 2013 |
| Location | Collbran, CO |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA 24-250 |
| Purpose of flight | Business |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 49 |
| Pilot total time | 546 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | 300 hrs |
| Fatalities | 3 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Physical-Health/Fitness-Use of medication/drugs-Pilot
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
The pilot was flying the airplane with two passengers on board to search for lost cattle in mountainous terrain. Witnesses observed the airplane maneuvering at a low altitude. The airplane was reported overdue, and the wreckage was subsequently located in a sparsely wooded area. An onboard GPS unit recorded the accident flight and depicted the airplane flying several north and south legs at altitudes ranging between 300 and 500 feet above ground level before the recording ended. The airplane impacted terrain in an extreme nose-low attitude with lateral distortion of the empennage. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The wreckage evidence indicated that the pilot likely failed to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering at a low altitude, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall/spin and subsequent impact with terrain.
Toxicology testing revealed the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol in the lung and tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid in the liver and lung, which suggested the recent use of marijuana; however, insufficient evidence existed to determine whether the pilot was impaired by its use at the time of the accident.