Glasair III

Full Narrative

On October 20, 2020, about 1710 central daylight time, a Glasair III airplane, N713MJ, was
substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Ford Heights, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

Witnesses reported seeing the low flying airplane “dragging” the light pole across the highway. The airplane then impacted the highway and came to rest in a wooded area alongside the road. Another witness reported that it sounded like the engine “cut off” and restarted before it lost power again.

A review of the airplane’s flight track revealed the pilot departed from Lansing Municipal Airport (IGQ) about 1645 and flew southwest before heading back to IGQ. The accident site was about 3 miles southwest of IGQ. The pilot was not in contact with air traffic control and there are no known distress calls from the pilot.


Figure 1: Accident airplane’s flight track


The fuselage sustained substantial damage and was separated from the wings. The right wing had leading edge damage consistent with the light pole impact, and the left wing sustained ground impact damage. The engine came to rest inverted and remained partially attached to the fuselage. The wing fuel tanks were breached in the accident, and the amount of fuel on board could not be determined.

A postaccident examination of the engine noted that the rear cylinder push rods were bent, the right lower engine mount was broken, and the attachment spring on the propeller governor was broken, consistent with impact damage.
 
The engine cylinders were inspected using a borescope, no pre-impact anomalies were noted. The engine’s crankshaft was rotated by hand; continuity through the engine valve train and to the accessory section was confirmed. The oil pickup screen was clear of debris. Fuel was found at the servo fuel line, and the fuel injectors were clear. Engine control continuity was established. The two-bladed, constant speed propeller remained attached to the engine. One blade had minimal damage, the second blade’s tip was bent back, starting about mid-span, and the leading edge was rough.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office, Chicago, Illinois, performed an autopsy of the pilot. The pilot’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. No significant natural disease was identified.

At the request of the Office of the Medical Examiner, NMS Labs performed toxicology testing on postmortem blood from the pilot. No tested-for substances were detected. The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory also tested postmortem specimens from the pilot. Amlodipine was detected in femoral blood and urine. Additionally, ketamine was detected at 422 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) in femoral blood and 162 ng/mL in urine, and the ketamine metabolite norketamine was detected at 25 ng/mL in femoral blood.

Ketamine is a drug that may be administered in a healthcare setting to produce sedation and anesthesia. It may also be used illicitly for its psychoactive effects. Norketamine is a metabolite of ketamine. Reviewed postaccident medical records documented that the pilot was administered ketamine during his postcrash medical care.