Porterfield FP-65 N37855

Summary

On 1 September 2005 at about 00:30 local time, a Porterfield FP-65 registered N37855 was involved in an accident near Sedalia, Missouri, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 September 2005 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sedalia, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

--- (PVT)

Coordinates

38.7072, -93.1758

Aircraft

Porterfield FP-65

Registration

N37855

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sedalia → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05LA250

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed and the inadvertent stall/spin resulting in an in-flight loss of control and collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was substantially damaged when the pilot lost control and impacted terrain. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector assigned to the accident, a witness reported that the airplane rolled upside down and descended to the ground. The wreckage was confined to the immediate area of the impact. The airplane was resting on its nose, with the empennage oriented upward about 60-degrees relative to the terrain. A post accident examination was conducted and no anomalies associated with a pre-impact failure were observed. There was no record of the pilot ever having been issued a pilot or medical certificate. A flight time logbook for the pilot was not located. Maintenance logbooks for the airplane were not located. The FAA forensic toxicology report for the pilot stated that ethanol was detected in blood, vitreous fluid, muscle, brain, and urine samples. Blood ethanol level was measured as 46 mg/dl (0.046 percent), vitreous ethanol level was 44 mg/dl (0.044 percent), and urine ethanol level was 92 mg/dl (0.092 percent). Federal regulations stated that a pilot may not operate an aircraft with a blood alcohol level of 0.04 percent or greater.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.