Cessna 172M N1186U

Summary

On 6 June 2014 at about 02:23 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N1186U, operated by Gillespie Kenneth H Trustee, was involved in an accident near Laytonville, California, 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

6 June 2014 at 02:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Laytonville, California, United States

Coordinates

39.6747, -123.6486

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N1186U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Gillespie Kenneth H Trustee

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Laytonville → Laytonville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14LA230

1 person died.

The pilot’s impairment due to alcohol ingestion, which resulted in his failure to maintain clearance from trees during a low-altitude flyby.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a local personal flight. Witnesses reported that they observed the airplane making several low passes over an open field. During the last pass, they observed the airplane's right wing contact a tree and then separate from the airplane. The airplane subsequently came to rest in a wooded area. According to the autopsy report, the pilot had coronary artery maximum occlusion of 50 percent, and there was no evidence of preexisting heart muscle scarring. This amount of occlusion likely would not have caused acute symptoms and would not have impaired the pilot's judgment; therefore, the pilot's coronary artery disease likely did not impair his ability to operate the airplane or contribute to the accident. Toxicology reports identified ethanol in the pilot's heart blood, iliac blood, vitreous, and urine. The distribution of the ethanol in the pilot's tissue was consistent with ingestion, not postmortem production. Although there was some variation, all of the pilot's tissues tested positive for ethanol well above 0.040 gram per deciliter, which indicates that the pilot had ingested sufficient ethanol to impair his ability to safety operate the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.