Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB WPR19FA173
Piper PA-11 — Copperopolis, CA
| Date | June 16, 2019 |
| Location | Copperopolis, CA |
| Aircraft | Piper PA-11 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Low altitude operation/event |
| Pilot age | 58 |
| Pilot total time | 450 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Physical-Impairment/incapacitation-Alcohol-Pilot
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Effect on operation
What happened
A friend of the pilot located near the lake reported that the pilot had sent him a text message, which said that he was going to do a “fly by” over the lake. The friend stated that, when he saw the airplane, it was about 150 ft above the water and that the pilot did a “wing wag” before the airplane collided with the power lines strung across the water. The airplane subsequently descended nose down into the water. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Toxicological tests detected a level of ethanol in the pilot’s specimens known to cause some impairment. The test results were also consistent with the pilot having recently consumed alcohol before the flight. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot’s impairment from consuming alcohol contributed to the accident.