Piper Archer Pilot Suffers Cardiac Event Over Salem, South Dakota

On January 13, 2019, Piper PA-28-181 N75191 was conducting a personal cross-country flight from Mitchell Municipal Airport to Mary Skie-Lincoln County Airport in South Dakota. About 15 minutes after departure, the 69-year-old pilot told Sioux Falls Approach that he was having chest pain, was blacking out and was having difficulty maintaining control. The controller remained in contact for about 20 minutes before the radio and radar track ended. The aircraft then struck terrain about six miles south of Salem. The pilot was fatally injured.

The emergency develops

The NTSB final report records the accident at 14:25 local time. The airplane had departed Mitchell Municipal Airport under day VMC with no flight plan filed and was headed for Mary Skie-Lincoln County Airport near Tea, South Dakota. Radar data showed the aircraft traveling southeast and then maneuvering and circling before the pilot contacted ATC.

During the radio exchange, the pilot described chest pain, blacking out and difficulty controlling the airplane. The controller continued communicating with him for roughly 20 minutes. The radar track ended about two miles southwest of the eventual accident site, after which the wreckage was found in a harvested field.

The aircraft itself

N75191 was a 1976 Piper PA-28-181 with a Lycoming O-360-A4M engine. The NTSB's examination of the wreckage found no preimpact anomaly that would have prevented normal operation. That finding is important because it separates the medical event from a mechanical failure that could otherwise have produced the loss of control.

Medical findings

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with single-engine-land and instrument ratings. His most recent third-class medical certificate had been issued in October 2016 and expired on October 31, 2018. The NTSB also noted that he had begun but had not completed the requirements for operation under BasicMed.

Autopsy findings included coronary artery disease, with 80 percent stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery and 50 percent stenosis of the right coronary artery. The autopsy diagnosed an acute myocardial infarction. The NTSB concluded that the incapacitating effects of the heart attack caused the pilot to lose control and the aircraft to impact terrain.

What happened in the final minutes

The accident did not begin with an aircraft systems failure. It developed as a medical emergency while the airplane was still airborne. The pilot recognized that something was seriously wrong and contacted ATC, but his ability to control the aircraft deteriorated. The controller's continued communication provided assistance while the airplane maneuvered, but the pilot ultimately became unable to maintain safe flight.

The flight before the medical emergency

The accident sequence therefore developed after the airplane was already airborne. Radar information showed the aircraft moving southeast before the pilot contacted ATC. Once the pilot reported chest pain and blacking out, the controller maintained communication while the aircraft continued to maneuver.

The NTSB docket records that the pilot had arrived at Mitchell earlier in the day, spent time at the airport and appeared well to the airport manager before departing. There was no reported warning at the departure airport indicating an imminent incapacitating event.

“The incapacitating effects of an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), which resulted in the pilot's loss of airplane control and impact with terrain.”

Accident Facts

The NTSB provides the accident time as 14:25 local; the earlier departure time is derived from the report's statement that the emergency occurred about 15 minutes after departure.

Sources

• NTSB: Final report CEN19LA053