American AA-1A N6409L

Summary

On 17 May 2022 at about 22:51 local time, a American AA-1A registered N6409L was involved in an accident near Cleburne, Texas, 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

17 May 2022 at 22:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Cleburne, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.2667, -97.4244

Aircraft

American AA-1A

Registration

N6409L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clifton → Cleburne

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN22FA203

1 person died.

The student pilot’s decision to operate the airplane after consuming alcohol, which led to an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, an aerodynamic stall, and a subsequent loss of control at a low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was returning to his home airport after making three stops to pick up and drop off equipment and a passenger. While the airplane was at low altitude about 5 miles from the student pilot’s home airport, the airplane made a left turn that was followed by a right turn near the airplane’s stall speed. The airplane rapidly descended and impacted a field in a nose-low attitude and with minimal forward momentum. The airplane came to rest upright, with both wings crushed downward and the engine partially separated and forward of the main wreckage. There was no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions were observed during examinations of the engine and airframe. Six empty mini-sized alcohol bottles were found in the airplane’s glove box. In addition, the pilot’s toxicology results showed ethanol concentrations that were about five times the Federal Aviation Administration regulatory limit of 0.04 gm/dL. At such concentrations, the pilot would likely have experienced degradation of judgment and deficits in coordination, psychomotor skills, perception, and attention. The student pilot’s toxicology results indicated that he was drinking alcohol before the time of the accident. The student pilot’s decision to maneuver the airplane at a low altitude while under the influence of alcohol caused the airplane to exceed its critical angle of attack and enter a stall, resulting in a loss of control from which the student pilot could not recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.