Mechanical & Engine Failure · NTSB CEN19LA053
Piper PA28 — Salem, SD
| Date | January 13, 2019 |
| Location | Salem, SD |
| Aircraft | Piper PA28 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Emergency descent Off-field or emergency landing |
| Pilot age | 69 |
| Pilot total time | 2,516 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Physical-Impairment/incapacitation-Cardiovascular-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
About 15 minutes after departing on a cross-country flight in day visual meteorological conditions, the pilot contacted air traffic control to report that he was having chest pain and blacking out, and was having difficulty controlling the airplane. The controller continued to communicate with the pilot for about 20 minutes before radio contact was lost. The wreckage was subsequently located in a field. Examination did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
The pilot's Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate expired about 10 weeks before the accident. He had begun but not completed the requirements for operation under BasicMed. Autopsy of the pilot identified coronary artery disease including 80% stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery and 50% stenosis of the right coronary artery and diagnosed an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). It is likely that the sudden, impairing effects of the heart attack and associated severe chest pain resulted in the pilot's loss of airplane control while attempting to land in a field, and its subsequent impact with terrain.