Cessna 172RG N6505V

Summary

On 8 May 1997 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N6505V was involved in an accident near Intracoastal, Louisiana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 May 1997 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Intracoastal, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

29.9696, -92.1195

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N6505V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97FA181

1 person died.

the pilot's decision to fly, when he was not in good physical condition; and his subsequent loss of aircraft control due to incapacitation. A related factor was: the pilot's perception of an urgency (pressure) to fly, induced by conditions/events.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Outbound on a fish spotting flight (flt), the pilot (plt) made a distress call to other company plts that he did not feel well & was returning to the airport. He said he was getting sick & 'a little nauseated.' Radio contact was lost, & the airplane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. Investigation revealed that before flt, the plt had breakfast, flew 4 hrs, attended a safety meeting & went to a health club. Company plts said he was upset from reprimands at the safety meeting, was stressed for monetary reasons, was worried about his job, & was concerned about his blood pressure, but would fly while fatigued or when not feeling well. Reportedly, he had not slept well the previous night. Following a partial workout & steam room session, he was seen holding his head in his hands outside the steam room; he said he stayed in the steam room too long & felt 'quizzy like was going to throw up, like over doing it.' He did not eat lunch, but rested before flt. The plt was noted to have high blood pressure, when he applied for a 2nd class medical certificate on 3/3/97. The certificate was issued after he was evaluated by a cardiologist & was prescribed Tenormin (atenolol) & Lipitor (atorvastatin). Tenormin is a medication that reduces resting & exercise heart rate & is acceptable to the FAA for control of blood pressure. Lipitor is a cholesterol-lowering agent. Toxicology testing revealed trace amounts of diphenhydramine (trade name Benadryl), an over-the-counter sedating antihistamine, in the plt's liver & kidney fluids.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.