Piper PA 24-260 N9032P

Summary

On 16 May 2015 at about 17:31 local time, a Piper PA 24-260 registered N9032P was involved in an accident near Spring Branch, Texas, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 May 2015 at 17:31

Classification

Accident

Location

Spring Branch, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Kestrel Airpark (1T7)

Coordinates

29.8125, -98.4164

Aircraft

Piper PA 24-260

Registration

N9032P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spring Branch → Spring Branch

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15FA232

4 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain control during takeoff due to his impairment from marijuana. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impaired decision to fly after using a disqualifying drug.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was departing on a local flight with three passengers in the complex, high-performance airplane. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane descended and impacted terrain near a store parking lot. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicological testing of the pilot revealed the presence of marijuana and its metabolite (THC and THC-COOH). THC is a psychoactive drug with potential effects such as decreased ability to concentrate and maintain attention, and impaired hand-eye coordination; these effects can present with blood levels of THC as low as 1 ng/ml. Due to postmortem redistribution, the exact level of THC and THC-COOH at the time of the accident could not be determined; however, the pilot's minimum THC level was likely about 5-11 ng/ml, and his THC-COOH level was likely about 3-4 ng/ml. His actual levels could have been higher at the time of the accident, and would likely have been higher during the time of preflight decision-making. The accident was consistent with a loss of control after takeoff due to the pilot's impairment by the effects of marijuana.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.