Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB CEN21FA424
BOEING A75 — Delta, CO
| Date | September 17, 2021 |
| Location | Delta, CO |
| Aircraft | BOEING A75 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-aerobatics Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 55 |
| Pilot total time | 1,104 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | 71 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Yaw control-Not attained/maintained
What happened
The pilot took off and proceeded to an area northeast of the airport where he began performing aerobatic maneuvers. Witnesses reported that the airplane began a loop maneuver and, at the top of the loop while inverted, the airplane entered a flat spin. They observed the airplane recover from the spin. The airplane then gained altitude and entered another loop. At the top of that loop, while inverted, the airplane entered another flat spin, but this time the pilot did not recover. The airplane descended to impact with rugged terrain. The witnesses reported that the engine could be heard running during the descent to the point of impact.
A postaccident examination revealed no preaccident failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot had used the sedating antihistamine diphenhydramine, which has a potential to cause cognitive and psychomotor slowing and drowsiness. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether the pilot was experiencing impairing diphenhydramine effects at the time of the crash, and no specific evidence that pilot impairment contributed to the crash.