CEN24FA148 · Davis DA-3

The private pilot and two passengers departed in the experimental airplane into day visual flight rules conditions for a local personal flight. A witness reported that the airplane departed to the south, and that the takeoff seemed routine and there were no obvious anomalies with the airplane. About 15 to 20 minutes later, local authorities received a report of an explosion. Upon arriving at the site, first responders observed the airplane with an active fire. There were no known witnesses to the accident itself, and no ADS-B data related to the accident flight was located. The airplane came to rest adjacent to a large tree about 1.4 miles south-southwest of the departure airport. A post-impact fire consumed portions of the fuselage and charred the large tree and low brush in the surrounding area. The airplane exhibited impact and postimpact fire damage. Portions of the fuselage and both wings were consumed by fire. Flight control continuity was confirmed from each control surface to the cockpit area. The engine was separated from the airframe and rested inverted on the ground near the fuselage. An examination did not identify any anomalies attributable to a preimpact failure or malfunction. The propeller was consumed by the postimpact fire; however, the retaining plates and propeller attachment bolts were intact. No evidence of an in-flight failure or separation of the propeller was observed. Although the extent of the postimpact fire limited the scope of the wreckage examinations, no evidence of an in-flight structural failure, flight control system anomaly, or inability of the engine and propeller to provide rated thrust were observed. The pilot’s coronary artery disease was associated with increased risk of an impairing or incapacitating cardiovascular event; however, there was no autopsy evidence that such an event had occurred. The pilot’s postmortem toxicology results indicated use of the sedating antihistamine medication diphenhydramine, but the level in his postmortem heart blood was low. Detected norchlorcyclizine indicated the pilot also likely used another antihistamine medication long enough before the accident that the medication itself was no longer detectable in his blood. Based on these results, there was no evidence that the pilot was experiencing any significant impairing effects at the time of the accident.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset