Piper PA-24-250 N5425P

Summary

On 19 April 2010 at about 15:38 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N5425P was involved in an accident near Madison, Indiana, 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

19 April 2010 at 15:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Madison, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Madison Municipal Airport (IMS)

Coordinates

38.7492, -85.3809

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N5425P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Madison → Madison

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA216

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to conduct the flight with known physiological impairment and his use of unapproved sedating medication, both of which likely impaired his ability to operate the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness to the accident said that the he heard the airplane’s engine "rev up" then saw the airplane pitch up, roll to the right into an inverted position, and nose dive toward the ground. Impact evidence showed that the airplane struck the ground in a near vertical attitude at a high rate of speed. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions or failures; however, the amount of destruction to the airplane precluded a comprehensive determination of its preimpact condition. Review of the pilot’s medical history revealed that over the few weeks before the accident, the pilot had developed neurologic symptoms, including increasing memory problems. During a doctor’s visit, he reported at least one acute episode where he felt confused and had some instability or balance problems. The exact cause of these symptoms and their degree was not determined because a thorough medical evaluation was not completed before the accident. In addition, toxicological test results showed that the pilot had been taking sedating medications that could impair his mental and/or physical ability. The medications were not approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for pilots’ use, and the pilot did not report using them to the FAA.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.