N1116N

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 21, 2021, about 0926 central standard time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N1116N, collided with a powered paraglider while inflight near Fulshear, Texas. The pilot of the Cessna and the non-certificated powered paraglider operator were fatally injured. The Cessna was destroyed and the powered paraglider sustained substantial damage. The Cessna was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 cargo flight, and the powered paraglider was operated as a Title 14 CFR Part 103 personal flight.

According to air traffic control data, about 0910, the Cessna departed George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, and flew southwest toward Victoria Regional Airport (VCT), Victoria, Texas. At 0917:53, the Cessna pilot was cleared to climb and maintain 5,000 ft mean sea level (msl). At 0924:08, the Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controller, “… confirm you wanted me at five thousand opposite direction traffic.” The controller replied that he wanted the Cessna to remain at 5,000 ft msl, but to expect a higher altitude soon.

According to ADS-B track data, between 0925:31 and 0925:34, the Cessna departed level flight at 5,000 ft msl and entered a rapidly increasing descent. At 0925:34, the final recorded ADS-B track data was at 4,725 ft msl and about 0.5 mile northeast of the Cessna’s main wreckage site. As of the final recorded ADS-B track point, the Cessna was descending about 8,960 feet per minute.

The powered paraglider was not equipped with a transponder or an ADS-B OUT transmitter and, as such, the powered paraglider’s position was not displayed on the air traffic controller’s display. Postaccident review of available radar data revealed sporadic primary returns near where the Cessna departed level flight and ADS-B data was lost. However, these primary returns were not displayed on the controller’s display and did not have a reported altitude.

The powered paraglider operator was using a video camera that captured the final 7 minutes 13 seconds of the flight. The recovered camera footage included a field of view that captured almost the entirety of the paraglider operator, the paraglider rigging, and the paraglider wing. The recovered audio track did not align with the video footage and was subsequently determined not relevant to the investigation.

Review of the camera footage revealed no anomalies with the operation of the powered paraglider until the final 8 seconds of the flight. At 7 minutes 6 seconds into the recording, the powered paraglider operator turned his head about 45° to the right in a manner consistent with his attention being quickly drawn to something to the right of the powered paraglider’s northerly flight path. Based on the powered paraglider operator’s head movements, his attention remained to the right of his position during the final 8 seconds of the flight.

About 6 seconds before the collision, with his head still turned toward the right, the powered paraglider operator pulled the left control toggle and turned toward a northwest heading. The profile of a high-wing airplane, later discernible as a Cessna 208B, emerged slightly above the horizon and to the right of the powered paraglider.

About 3 seconds before the collision, with his head still sharply turned to the right, the powered paraglider operator aggressively pulled down on both control toggles.

About 1 second before the collision, with his head still sharply turned to the right, the powered paraglider operator relieved the downward pressure on the left control toggle and sharply pulled down on the right control toggle to enter a right turn. The Cessna remained in level flight with no apparent change in roll or heading.

In the final moments of the video, the powered paraglider remained in a steep right turn with the operator’s body slung up and to the left with respect to the paraglider’s wing. The powered paraglider operator’s head position remained sharply to the right as the Cessna converged with the powered paraglider.

The final recovered frame of video showed the powered paraglider in a steep right bank, the powered paraglider operator’s head rotated about 45° to the right, and his hands on their respective control toggle. The Cessna’s right-wing leading edge, outboard of the right-wing lift strut attachment point, appeared to be inline with the body of the powered paraglider operator. The flight path of the Cessna appeared to be straight and level with no change in roll or heading. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONBased on the video footage recovered from the powered paraglider, visual meteorological conditions prevailed with no clouds or visibility restrictions.

At the time of the accident, the sun’s position relative to the accident site was to the southeast (137° true) and was about 22.3° above the horizon. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONAn onsite examination revealed that the outboard 10 ft of the Cessna’s right wing separated following the impact with the powered paraglider. The separated section of the right wing was located about 0.6 mile east of the main wreckage site. There was a semicircular impact impression in the leading edge of the right wing outboard section that measured about 5 ft wide and about 36 inches deep. Fabric remnants resembling the powered paraglider operator’s jacket were found within the semicircular impression.

The Cessna impacted terrain at high vertical speed in a steep nose-down and inverted attitude on a 332° magnetic heading. The Cessna wreckage was found highly fragmented in the 10-ft-deep impact crater. Flight control continuity could not be established due to fragmentation and soil embedment; however, all flight control cable separations were consistent with tensile overload. The engine and propeller were located at the base of the impact crater. All three propeller blades had separated from the hub and exhibited leading edge gouging and chordwise scoring. Two of the propeller blades exhibited S-shape bending.

The powered paraglider operator and the paraglider engine were found about 0.7 mile east-northeast of the Cessna’s main wreckage site. The powered paraglider operator had separated from his seat-style harness.

The paraglider wing, harness, and emergency parachute were located about 3.9 miles south of the Cessna’s main wreckage site. The paraglider harness exhibited tearing and impact damage. The static and control lines remained intact and attached to the harness and wing. The paraglider wing remained intact with minor tearing of the lower wing surface. The emergency parachute was found deployed, intact, with no tearing or damage. ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONThe Cessna was operating under Title 14 CFR Part 135 on an instrument flight plan in visual meteorological conditions. The Cessna was equipped with a transponder and an ADS-B OUT transmitter, which made the airplane visible to the air traffic control system.

The powered paraglider was operating as an ultralight vehicle under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 103. In the United States, ultralight vehicles are not identified as aircraft and, as such, do not require a FAA registration certificate, FAA airworthiness certificate, or a FAA pilot certificate to operate.

According to Title 14 CFR Part 91.227 (ADS-B OUT Equipment Performance Requirements) and Advisory Circular No. 20-165B (Airworthiness Approval of ADS-B OUT Systems), in the United States, among other requirements, an aircraft registration number and an International Civil Aviation Organization 24-bit address are required for an ADS-B OUT system to be installed in a civil aircraft. As such, ultralight vehicles that are operated in the United States without FAA registration, as most are, are not authorized to use an ADS-B OUT transmitter.

The inflight collision at 5,000 ft msl occurred in Class E airspace. The operation of the powered paraglider in Class E airspace did not require two-way radio communication with air traffic control, the use of a transponder, or an ADS-B OUT transmitter.

Neither the Cessna nor the powered paraglider were equipped with ADS-B IN technology, cockpit display of traffic information, or a traffic alerting system.

According to Title 14 CFR Part 103.13 (Operation Near Aircraft; Right-of-Way Rules), an ultralight vehicle shall maintain vigilance to see and avoid aircraft and shall yield the right-of-way to all aircraft. Additionally, no person shall operate an ultralight vehicle in a manner that creates a collision hazard with respect to any aircraft. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATIONCessna Pilot

The Cessna pilot’s last aviation medical examination was completed on June 14, 2021. At that time, he reported no medication use. He reported a history of anxiety due to legal issues and family stress, and a 2008 court-martial with dishonorable discharge from the Air Force. He had used the antidepressant/sleep aid medication trazodone for a short time in 2008 and was issued a FAA Letter of Eligibility for medical certification for his anxiety and legal issues in 2011. No significant issues were identified at the Cessna pilot’s last aviation medical examination, and he was issued a first-class medical certificate without limitation.

An autopsy of the Cessna pilot was performed by Fort Bend County Medical Examiner Office. The autopsy report was reviewed by a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Medical Officer. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma, and the manner of death was accident. The ability of the autopsy examination to evaluate for natural disease was extremely limited by the extent of traumatic injury.

The FAA Forensic Sciences laboratory performed toxicological testing of postmortem specimens from the Cessna pilot. The prescription antipsychotic medication quetiapine was detected in muscle tissue. Ethanol was detected in one muscle specimen at 0.022 g/dL but was not detected in another muscle specimen. No blood was available fo...