ERA20FA027 · Grumman OV-1 D

The purpose of the flight was for the pilot to visually locate the aerobatic box in preparation for his airshow performance the following day; he told his crew chief that he did not intend to perform aerobatics during the accident flight due to the low cloud ceiling and wind. After takeoff, the pilot performed a left climbing turn followed by a left descending turn, then flew parallel to the runway while descending to about 500 ft. About the midpoint of the runway, he began a climbing left turn followed by a right climbing turn of increasing pitch attitude. The right turn was described by several witnesses as being about 10° to 45º past 90°, with one witness describing it as an “overbank” and another describing it as a “…crisp right roll to about 135°.” The airplane began descending and accelerating, and several witnesses reported that the pilot was attempting “pulling,” or applying aft elevator control input. The airplane was destroyed when it impacted the ground near the runway in a nose- and right-wing-low attitude.

Witnesses reported hearing no issues with the engines, and examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction with either engine, the airframe, flight controls, or propellers. An impact signature on adjacent structure from the elevator was consistent with up-elevator input at impact. It could not be determined why the pilot did not roll left to recover from the inverted attitude while descending rather than attempting to pull through it.

The pilot had not reported any use of medication at the time of his most recent medical examination. Although postaccident toxicology testing identified the antidepressant medication citalopram and its metabolite, given the circumstances of this accident, it is unlikely that effects from his use of citalopram or his depression were factors in the accident. Although ethanol was also detected, it is likely that the identified ethanol was from sources other than ingestion and did not contribute to the accident.

While a video depicted dark coloration that was somewhat translucent near and on the airplane just before impact, that coloration did not appear in any prior or subsequent frames until ground contact. All primary and secondary flight controls were accounted for, there was no evidence that any other parts separated from the airplane in-flight, and no bird remains were noted among the wreckage.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset