N427LE

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 13, 2015, about 2235 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Bartels Lancair Evolution airplane, N427LE, descended into the Pacific Ocean about 490 nautical miles (nm) northwest of San Francisco, California. The commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Unmanned Systems, Inc., under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed and activated. The personal flight departed from Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, about 1815 with a planned destination of Hesperia Airport, Hesperia, California.

Unmanned Systems was in the process of modifying the airplane so that it could be used as a trainer for pilots flying unmanned aircraft. During the month before the accident, the pilot, who was an employee of Unmanned Systems, had spent the majority of his time in Phoenix working on the development and modification of hardware and software systems for the airplane. The pilot had planned to fly the airplane to Hesperia the day before the accident to pick up his children and return with them to Phoenix. He had to delay his flight because flight line personnel at the fixed based operator (FBO) where he hangared the airplane had left the airplane's master switch on, which completely drained the batteries.

At 1258 on the day of the accident, the pilot sent a text message to his ex-spouse (the children's mother) stating that he had worked on the airplane until 0500 and then had stopped to get some sleep. He told her that he was going back to the airport to work on the airplane and might have to change batteries. At 1728, he sent her a text message stating that he was" finishing up after all the [maintenance]" and would likely be able to fly. At 1746, he texted that "everything is working so far" and "if checks are good when I'm airborne I'll keep going" to the destination airport. At 1815, the pilot texted that he was departing and would be landing in Hesperia between about 1915 and 1930.

Air traffic control (ATC) communication audiotapes from the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center (ABQ ARTCC) indicated that, after takeoff, the pilot contacted ABQ ARTCC at 1825:24, stating that he was at 18,100 ft and climbing to 21,000 ft. The controller responded that he was cleared to climb and maintain 25,000 ft, which was the altitude listed in the pilot's flight plan. At 1829:54, the pilot made his last radio transmission, which was a response to the controller's frequency change instructions. The pilot read back the new frequency correctly making a slight stutter at the beginning of the transmission and double clicking the microphone. The controller checked to see if the pilot was on the frequency about 5 minutes later but did not receive a response.

Radar data indicated that, at the time of the pilot's first radio call, the airplane was transitioning through 18,100 ft, consistent with the pilot's transmission stating that he was climbing through that altitude. During the pilot's last radio transmission, the airplane was climbing through 22,800 ft on a westerly heading; the airplane reached 25,000 ft about 1832:30. The airplane tracked jet route J212, passed over the waypoint CURIV, and about 1850 began a turn to the south-southwest to overfly the Blythe, California very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR). The airplane completed an s-turn, passed over waypoint DECAS, and continued west, tracking jet route J65. The airplane overflew the destination airport and continued on the heading of 238°.

According to US military representatives, two F-15 fighter jets and a KC-135 air refueling tanker intercepted the airplane near Fresno, California, around 1900. An NTSB investigator reviewed the video taken by the F-15 that was in trail behind the airplane. The other F-15 maneuvered close to the accident airplane and attempted to get the pilot's attention. In the audio of the video, the F-15 pilot nearest the accident airplane reported that he was able to see the airplane's lights flashing (likely referring to the airplane's anti-collision lights and rotating beacon). He added that, due to the window position and the sun's glare, it was difficult to see inside. From what both pilots observed, they could not see anybody inside the airplane. They then used flares in an attempt to get the pilot's attention, but there was no reaction from the pilot. The airplane continued on a heading of about 260° at an altitude of about 25,000 ft.

The pilot of the F-15 closest to the airplane then attempted to see inside the cockpit using night vision googles. After maneuvering to about 200 ft from the airplane, the F-15 pilot reported that he could see in the front seat what he believed to be a seatbelt should harness fully forward and extremely tight. He was only able to observe this because of the contrast of the dark material. It appeared there was no one inside the airplane. The windows were not frosted. Neither F-15 pilot saw lights in the cockpit area. The F-15s continued to follow the airplane for about 20 to 30 minutes before they were recalled to their base at which point a US Coast Guard C-130 airplane followed the airplane until it crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Radar contact was lost at 2150 as the airplane entered non-radar airspace over the Pacific Ocean.

A video taken from the C-130 showed the airplane after its impact with the water. At the beginning of the 49-minute video, the airplane was floating in a nose-low attitude, with the right wing and propeller submerged under water. About 19 minutes into the video, the airplane was in a nose-low, near vertical attitude with the entire nose of the airplane submerged beneath the surface. About 42 minutes into the video, the aft portion of the tail was the only piece of the airplane above the water. The airplane sunk in the ocean, and the wreckage was not recovered. According to a Lancair representative the 4 hours and 22 minutes of flight is consistent with the airplane's engine experiencing a total loss of power from fuel exhaustion. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONA review of the airmen records maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed that the pilot, age 39, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single- and multi-engine land airplanes and instrument airplane. He held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for single-engine airplane and instrument airplane. The pilot was also a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic. His most recent second-class medical certificate was issued in February 2015 and had the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses.

On his most recent FAA medical certificate application, the pilot reported a total flight experience of 2,150 hours of which 50 hours were acquired in the last 6 months. The pilot's personal flight records contained entries up to June 17, 2015, at which time the pilot recorded that he had about 4,025 hours of flight experience, which included his pilot-in-command time of unmanned aircraft. On an application for insurance for the accident airplane the pilot reported that he received 25 hours of Lancair Evolution initial flight training from Elite Pilot Services in December 2014. He additionally reported that he had attended Test Pilot Professional Training at the National Test Pilot School in December 2007 and had previously been in a hypobaric chamber to learn his symptoms of hypoxia. He reported that he did not use any medications.

According to the airplane's radar flight history, 18 flights were made between June 2015 and the accident flight. The airplane had been flown from Phoenix to Hesperia on June 14, June 21, and August 3.

The pilot's friends and acquaintances reported that he had been working long hours but could perform and operate well with little sleep. The pilot reported in the company records that from August 3 to 10, he worked every day for a total of 83 hours; he had not entered his more recent hours.

According to the pilot's girlfriend, he was in good health and had recently run a half marathon. The pilot's body was not recovered so an autopsy and toxicological testing could not be performed. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe Lancair Evolution was developed by Lancair and is available as an amateur-built kit from Evolution Aircraft. The high-performance, pressurized airplane is constructed mainly of composite materials and is equipped with four seats, retractable tricycle landing gear, and traditional flight control surfaces. The accident airplane was manufactured in 2009 as serial number EVO-002 and received a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category for the purpose of research and development in October 2014. The airplane was equipped with a Pratt and Whitney PT6A-135A engine, serial number PCE-P21565. According to airplane records, the engine was installed new in December 2014.

An airplane discrepancy list dated February 2, 2015, included an operational check of the pressure controller. There was a further notation that the cabin pressure could not maintain the maximum differential possibly due to a cabin leak or the outflow valve not closing entirely. The records indicated that various maintenance was performed, and the problem was rectified. A new carbon monoxide detector was installed in April 2015.

The airplane was equipped with two EnerSys sealed lead acid batteries. The standard battery installation is two sealed lead acid 24-volt batteries wired in parallel located on the cabin side of the firewall forward of the pilot and co-pilot rudder pedals.

About 1700 on the day of the accident, the airplane was fueled with 70 gallons of fuel topping the wing tanks to full.

The airplane was equipped with a Garmin 900X primary flight display (PFD) and multifunction display (MFD) arrangement with a Radiant Power Corporation (formerly Mor...