N151SV

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 14, 2012, at 1908 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-151, N151SV, collided with desert terrain near Marana, Arizona. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal cross-country flight departed from Benson Municipal Airport, Benson, Arizona, about 1835, with a planned destination of Imperial County Airport, Imperial, California. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed along the intended route of flight, and the pilot was receiving visual flight rules (VFR) flight following services; he had not filed a flight plan.

Earlier in the day, the pilot had flown with his spouse from his home base airport in Imperial. The first leg of the flight was to Benson, where the pilot would typically refuel the airplane, and then they continued to their destination of Las Cruces International Airport, Las Cruces, New Mexico. The pilot's spouse stayed in Las Cruces and he departed for Benson about an hour thereafter with the ultimate destination being Imperial.

Recorded radar data and Air Traffic Control (ATC) recordings were obtained and reviewed by a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. Recorded radar data covering the area of the accident was examined for the time frame, and a discreet secondary beacon code target was observed that matched the anticipated flight track of the airplane en route from Benson to Imperial. The radar data consisted of about 30 minutes of returns from 1838:02 to 1907:22. The returns were consistent with the airplane flying in a northwesterly direction, and the mode C altitude gradually climbing from about 6,600 feet mean sea level (msl) to peak altitude of 8,600 feet msl.

A review of the data disclosed that about 1850 the track was over Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Arizona, cruising at an altitude around 8,500 feet msl. The track continued another approximate 35 miles with a majority of the radar returns spaced uniformly and following a track of about 300 degrees true. At 1904, the track departed from the northwesterly flight path, consistent with the airplane making a left turn and flying west for a mile. The track then made a series of turns, and it appeared the airplane turned back to the northwest direction for about 2 miles. The course turned southwest for 2 miles, and began to descend. The returns then made a 360-degree turn from 1906:03 until the last hit at 1907:22, during which time the altitude decreased 1,700 feet to 6,600 msl. The last radar return was about 0.8 nm southwest of the accident location. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONAccording to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airman and Medical record files, the 57 year old pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane rating for single-engine land, which was issued on April 22, 2012. The pilot's most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on September 08, 2010, containing the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision. There were no records of a more recent medical examination for a new medical certificate.

The pilot's flight records were found in the wreckage, and consisted of a bound logbook dated from April 10, 2011, to September 19, 2012. The summation of flight hours from the logbook revealed that the pilot had accumulated 185 hours of total flight experience, primarily all of which were flown in the accident airplane. The logs additionally disclosed that he had accrued 7.3 hours of flight time in nighttime conditions.

Based on the airport identifiers listed in the logs for flight origin and destination points, the pilot had completed the same trip twice before. The first trip recorded was dated May 2012 where he logged 4.7 hours from Imperial to Las Cruces and the following day, logged 5.1 hours for the return trip. A stop in Benson was noted on both legs where the pilot presumably refueled the airplane (no nighttime flight hours were recorded on that flight). The second trip was recorded as occurring in September 2012 with the flight to Las Cruces recorded as taking 5.5 hours. The following day, the pilot recorded a 1.2 hour flight in the local area. A separate entry for that day recorded the flight from Las Cruces back to Imperial with a stop in Benson, 0.4 hours of which was in night conditions.

The pilot's family members stated that they looked at the pilot's daily work activity sheets, and provided copies of his telephone records. They stated that he had been busy with work the 3 days before the accident. He appeared to have worked into the early morning on October 13 and then went back to work at 0700, getting little sleep. He awoke about 0430 on the day of the accident, which was not unusual.

The pilot had intended to leave about 0600 that Sunday morning, but the actual departure was about 0800. The trip was further delayed by a headwind and having to refuel in Benson. The pilot ate in Las Cruces, and was in a hurry to depart to get back to Imperial. The accident flight was the first time that he attempted to make the trip to Las Cruces and back in the same day. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe Piper PA-28-151, serial number 28-7515119, was manufactured in 1974, and purchased by the pilot in May 2011. The airplane's maintenance records revealed that the last annual inspection was performed on August 1, 2012. An estimated airframe total time of 4,657.2 hours at the time of the accident was determined by adding the pilot's total flight time since the last maintenance performed. The airplane was equipped with the originally installed four-cylinder Lycoming O-360-E3D engine, serial number L-39304-27A. According to the logbooks, last recorded maintenance on the engine was performed during the annual inspection, and it was noted that at that time, it had accumulated about 90 hours since the last major overhaul.

Fuel receipts located within the wreckage indicated that while in Benson, the pilot added about 28 gallons of fuel at 1216, and then added about 14 gallons at 1804. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe closest aviation weather observation station was located at Tucson International Airport, about 35 miles southeast of the accident site, at an elevation of 2,650 feet mean sea level (msl). A routine aviation weather observation (METAR) was issued 15 minutes prior to the accident, at 1853, and reported the following conditions: wind from 360 degrees at 3 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; clear sky conditions; temperature 27 degrees Celsius; dew point -3 degree Celsius; and altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of mercury (inHg).

Data from the United States Naval Observatory indicated that the phase of the moon was waning crescent with 1-percent of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. The sunset occurred at 1750, and the end of civil twilight was 1815. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe Piper PA-28-151, serial number 28-7515119, was manufactured in 1974, and purchased by the pilot in May 2011. The airplane's maintenance records revealed that the last annual inspection was performed on August 1, 2012. An estimated airframe total time of 4,657.2 hours at the time of the accident was determined by adding the pilot's total flight time since the last maintenance performed. The airplane was equipped with the originally installed four-cylinder Lycoming O-360-E3D engine, serial number L-39304-27A. According to the logbooks, last recorded maintenance on the engine was performed during the annual inspection, and it was noted that at that time, it had accumulated about 90 hours since the last major overhaul.

Fuel receipts located within the wreckage indicated that while in Benson, the pilot added about 28 gallons of fuel at 1216, and then added about 14 gallons at 1804. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe wreckage was approximately 0.8 miles north of the last radar return at an elevation of about 2,365 feet msl. The accident site was located in unpopulated desert terrain, with the debris stretching over 470 feet from the first impact point to the farthest debris found (right main landing wheel). The main wreckage was situated at the end of the debris field; the energy path was oriented on a heading of about 300 degrees. In character, the terrain was comprised of dirt and rocks, populated by scattered brush and cactus typical of the southern Arizona region.

The main wreckage was located next to a tree on a northeast facing slope of the slightly inclined terrain that made up one side of a drainage ditch. The main wreckage consisted of the inboard left wing (and flap), the fuselage undercarriage portion of the cockpit, the tail section (vertical stabilizer, rudder, inboard portions of the stabilator), and the aft portion of the empennage. All control surfaces were accounted for at the accident site.

The first identified point of contact consisted of cut branches about 12 feet high in a tree located at the beginning of the debris field. About 30 feet from the tree was disrupted dirt where a crater was located with blue lens fragments found embedded in the soil. The crater was consistent in size and orientation to that of the right wing tip. Given the height of the cut tree branches and the distance of the impact crater from that point, the calculated descent angle would be 67 degrees.

A larger impact area, just beyond the impact crater, contained loose dirt and airplane debris with displaced dirt covering the ground in the direction of the wreckage path. The engine came to rest in a ravine 410 feet from the initial impact point. The propeller was located partially buried in dirt about 50 feet from the initial impact point.

A detailed wreckage diagram is appended to this report in the public docket. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe Pima County Sherriff's Office Pima County, Arizona, completed an autopsy on the pilot. The FAA Toxicology and Accident Re...