Beagle B-206 SERIES 2 N86GW

Summary

On 21 September 2002 at about 15:50 local time, a Beagle B-206 SERIES 2 registered N86GW was involved in an accident near McAlpin, Florida, 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

21 September 2002 at 15:50

Classification

Accident

Location

McAlpin, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Little River Airpark

Coordinates

30.1017, -82.9014

Aircraft

Beagle B-206 SERIES 2

Registration

N86GW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jacksonville → McAlpin

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA02FA170

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed to sustain controlled flight, which resulted in an inadvertent stall during a turn from base to final. A contributing factor was the pilot's use of judgment and performance impairing drugs.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted terrain in a nose low pitch attitude after the private pilot lost control during a turn from base to final approach. Witnesses located at the arrival airport reported the accident airplane flew a fairly "tight" right downwind pattern for runway 36 that was a "little low" (about 650 to 750 feet above ground level [agl]). The surface winds were from the east, and according to the witnesses, the result was that the pilot overshot his turn to final approach. The pilot corrected back toward the centerline in a fairly steep bank when the airplane was observed to enter a roll to the right, the nose dropped toward the ground. The witnesses then lost sight of the airplane as it descended behind trees in a nose low pitch attitude. Witnesses estimated the altitude of the airplane at the time of the roll was between 300 and 350 feet agl. The private pilot flew the airplane once within the preceding 6 months and twice within the past 12 months. No anomalies with the airframe or engines were noted that would have prevented their normal operation. According to the fixed-based operator, where the airplane was based, fueling personnel added 10 gallons to each wing prior to the accident flight; however, they were not sure what the airplane's total fuel quantity was. The unusable fuel quantity was 6.1 gallons. The fuel consumption rate varied between 24.4 and 33.0 gallons per hour depending on the power setting, and the accident flight lasted 35 minutes. No fuel was found in the fuel system components for the right engine with the exception of the fuel manifold. It was possible that the right engine's fuel supply line may have become unported during the steep bank to final; however, with an unknown fuel quantity, this could not be determined conclusively. Toxicology tests performed on the pilot were positive for tramadol (prescription painkiller) and chlorpheniramine (antihistamine, commonly used in over-the-counter cold/allergy preparations). Side effects for the drugs include dizziness, sleepiness, and performance degradation for complex cognitive and motor tasks. It is likely the use of the two drugs impaired the pilot's judgment and performance in pre-flight planning and in the flight itself.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.