Carrollton, OH, USA
N200JA
Grumman American AA-1C
The instrument rated private pilot departed on a cross country flight without a weather brief. Thunderstorms were recorded in the vicinity of the destination airport. The airplane was found in a tree farm near trees with broken branches. An on-scene examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact anomalies.
On July 5, 2007, about 1100 eastern daylight time, N200JA, registered as a Grumman American AA-1C, operated by an instrument rated private pilot, sustained substantial damage on impact with trees and terrain during cruise near Carrollton, Ohio. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The flight departed about 0930 from the Ashland Regional Airport (DWU), near Ashland, Kentucky, and was destined for the Carroll County-Tolson Airport (TSO), near Carrollton, Ohio. Fueling receipts showed that the airplane was fueled with 14.3 gallons of aviation gasoline at 0914 and a witness at DWU reported that the airplane departed about 0930. Witnesses reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector that they saw an airplane circling and heard the engine revving up and down before hearing a "big bang." The airplane was found in a tree farm about five miles south of TSO. Trees near the wreckage debris field were found with broken branches. The wreckage debris field was about 140 feet long by 99 feet wide. At 1053, the recorded weather at the Harry Clever Field Airport, near New Philadelphia, Ohio, about 250 degrees and 17 nautical miles from the accident site, was: Wind 270 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 4 statute miles; present weather mist; sky condition overcast 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL); temperature 22 degrees Celsius (C); dew point 20 degrees C; altimeter 29.94 inches of mercury; remarks lighting north and northeast, thunderstorm began at 1026 and ended at 1051, rain began at 0955 and ended at 1047, ceilings 700 AGL variable to 1,500 AGL. FAA personnel reviewed flight service station records and there was no record of any weather briefing by anyone representing N200JA. FAA inspectors examined the wreckage on-scene. The examination revealed no pre-impact anomalies. The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute prepared a Final Forensic Toxicology Accident Report. The report stated, "NAPROXEN detected in Urine." The pilot did not list taking Naproxen on his last application for his third class medical certificate.
The pilot failed to maintain clearance from trees during cruise. Factors were the inadequate preflight planning, the thunderstorm in the area at the time of the accident, and the trees.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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