Piper PA-24-250 N7774P

Summary

On 24 August 2012 at about 20:45 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N7774P was involved in an accident near Milner, Colorado, 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

24 August 2012 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Milner, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.5125, -107.0339

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N7774P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Glenwood Spring → Saint Paul

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12FA571

1 person died.

The student pilot's impairment from alcohol, marijuana, and hypoxia, which adversely affected his ability to maintain control of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot departed on a cross-country flight and was not in contact with air traffic controllers; no flight plan had been filed. Log data recovered from the handheld global positioning system (GPS) unit depicted a flight track consistent with the accident flight and logged a maximum speed of 135 knots and a maximum GPS altitude of 18,379 feet. The airplane's wreckage was located in a remote valley the following afternoon. An examination of the engine and airframe revealed no anomalies. Damage to the airplane and ground scars were consistent with the airplane being in a stall and flat spin at the time of impact. During the examination of the wreckage, marijuana and an opened six-pack of beer were found; the beer bottles were located in the front of the airplane, within the pilot's reach. Toxicological testing found both alcohol and marijuana in the pilot's system. The amount of alcohol in the pilot's system would have significantly impaired the pilot's performance. In addition, the amount of marijuana and its metabolite found in the pilot's system indicated he was actively smoking in the hour before the accident; this would also have significantly impaired his ability to control the airplane. Both of these intoxicants may have impaired his judgment and contributed to the pilot's decision to fly above 18,000 feet in an aircraft not equipped with oxygen. The resulting hypoxia also impaired his ability to control the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.