Bellanca 14-19-3A N11RC

Summary

On 27 October 2013 at about 22:40 local time, a Bellanca 14-19-3A registered N11RC, operated by William B. Doppelt, was involved in an accident near Boerne, Texas, 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

27 October 2013 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Boerne, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.7992, -98.7293

Aircraft

Bellanca 14-19-3A

Registration

N11RC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

William B. Doppelt

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fulton → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14FA024

1 person died.

A defective exhaust system that allowed carbon monoxide to enter the cabin and impair the pilot, rendering him unable to control the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was returning to his home airport. A review of radar data showed the accident airplane in a straight-line descent from cruise flight at a rate of nearly 2,900 ft per minute. The descent resulted in a loss of 8,100 ft in less than 3 minutes until the airplane disappeared from radar in the vicinity of the accident site. Disassembly of the airplane's cabin heat shroud, which provided heated air to the cabin, revealed evidence of cracks and holes in the muffler wall and exhaust gas penetration into the interior of the shroud. According to the autopsy report, the pilot died as a result of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, with soot present in the upper airway and 37% carbon monoxide found in his blood postmortem. Based on the lack of soot in the lower airway and the elevated carbon monoxide levels, the majority of the carbon monoxide in the pilot's blood was likely from inhalation during the flight at levels that would have impaired his ability to safely fly the airplane. Although cetirizine, also known as Zyrtec® (used to temporarily relieve allergy symptoms and could cause drowsiness), was also detected in the pilot's urine and blood, the detected level indicated that impairment from the drug was unlikely.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.