N7430JPiper PA-28R-180 · 1968

On August 31, 2018, about 0756 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28R airplane, N7430J, impacted a tower near Kaplan, Louisiana. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by Space City Aviators under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, which departed without a flight plan from Abbeville Chris Crusta Memorial Airport (IYA), Abbeville, Louisiana, about 0746.

The pilot and his daughter were returning toward their home state of Texas following a vacation to Florida. They arrived to IYA on the afternoon before the accident and stayed overnight at a hotel in Abbeville. According to a hotel surveillance camera, they departed this hotel at 0708.

Following departure from IYA, an uncontrolled airport, the airplane flew about 15 miles to the northwest, where it struck a television/radio tower in a rural area. The tower's height was 1,793 ft above ground level and the airplane impacted about 200 ft below the apex of the tower. The highly fragmented wreckage was dispersed over an area about 700 ft wide. The tower collapsed and the buildings at the base of the tower, which were unoccupied, caught fire and were destroyed. No ground injuries occurred.

The pilot, age 45, held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airline transport pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings, as well as a flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine land and multi-engine landing ratings. On February 27, 2017, the pilot was issued a third-class medical certificate with no restrictions and reported a total flight time of 6,000 hours. The pilot was employed as an FAA operations inspector.

The airplane was manufactured in 1968 and was equipped with a Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine, serial number L-5225-51A, and a Hartzel two-blade, all-metal propeller. The airplane underwent an annual inspection on July 18, 2018. At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated 3,980 hours, with a total engine time of 4,726 hours and time since engine overhaul of 1,782 hours. The airplane was one of four in a fleet offered for rent at a flight club based at La Porte Municipal Airport (T41), La Porte, Texas. The pilot was a member of the flight club.

The airplane was manufactured in 1968 and was equipped with a Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine, serial number L-5225-51A, and a Hartzel two-blade, all-metal propeller. The airplane underwent an annual inspection on July 18, 2018. At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated 3,980 hours, with a total engine time of 4,726 hours and time since engine overhaul of 1,782 hours. The airplane was one of four in a fleet offered for rent at a flight club based at La Porte Municipal Airport (T41), La Porte, Texas. The pilot was a member of the flight club.

The wreckage was in four principal sections: fuselage, empennage and cabin; engine and propeller; right wing; and left wing. Near the base of the tower, which collapsed on heading of 255°, a 20 ft wide area of fuel blight was noted to the grass. The empennage remained attached to the fuselage and lay on its right side with the cabin underneath. Buckling was noted throughout the empennage skin.

The aileron control tee bar was impact damaged and the chain was displaced, with the left aileron drive cable attached to the chain. The chain was pulled down into the cabin floor tunnel and a broomstraw separation occurred inboard of the turnbuckle barrel. The rudder remained attached to the vertical stabilizer and rudder cables retained continuity from the pedal bar in the cockpit to the rudder. The vertical stabilizer and stabilator remained attached to the empennage, with normal cable continuity from the tee bar in the cockpit to the stabilator balance weight.

The transponder was found in the off position. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal flight operations.

The impacted tower was correctly depicted on the FAA sectional chart. Surveillance video of the tower taken during the early morning hours before the accident revealed lighting anomalies. Instead of blinking in unison, the tower's lights would illuminate in a chaotic, random manner. Due to sun glare, video surveillance was not available after 0607 on the morning of the accident.

A witness who lived near the tower stated the lights were often erratic. An aerial application pilot who frequently flew near the tower stated the intensity of the tower's lights ranged from very bright to dim. This pilot flew during the morning of the accident and recalled the tower's lights as bright. A direct course from IYA to the pilot's home airport at T41 would have positioned the flight over five miles south of the tower.

On August 31, 2018, a forensic pathologist from the Louisiana Forensic Center, Youngsville, Louisiana performed an autopsy on the pilot and passenger. The cause of death for the pilot and passenger was blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory on the pilot was negative for drugs and alcohol.

According to the pilot's second wife, she and the pilot were in the process of getting a divorce following several family-related challenges. She had been very concerned when the pilot left with their daughter without notice and until the evening before the accident, she had not seen or spoke with her daughter since July 27, 2018. According to his FAA supervisor, the pilot's behavior became erratic before the accident. He was unresponsive to phone calls and made purchases for personal items with his work credit card while in Florida, which was not authorized. On the day before the accident, the pilot was informed by his attorney that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.