NTSB: Pilot, Passenger Were Intoxicated In CA Accident

Witnesses Report 8-10 Beers Consumed Shortly Before Flight

According to a preliminary NTSB report, the pilot and passenger of a 1948 Ryan Navion A had consumed eight to 10 beers shortly before a March 30 crash in North Valley, CA.

Pilot Grant Linderman, 31, and passenger Michael Aiello, 28, died when the aircraft went down about 15 miles north of Los Banos shortly after take off. It was enroute to Hollister in Kern County.

According to California's KFSN-TV, Patrons at a local bar told investigators they overheard Linderman and Aiello talking about going out and doing aerobatics stunts in the plane.

According to the NTSB report, "Prior to discovery of the missing airplane, detectives from the Los Banos Police Department interviewed family and

friends of the pilot and passenger. During the course of the interviews detectives determined that both the pilot and passenger had each consumed between 8 to 10 beers between 1800 and 2400 on March 29, 2007.

"Prior to the flight, the pilot and passenger had departed from a local bar in Los Banos where patrons had overheard discussions between them about doing some "crazy" aerobatics."

The crash site was located late the next afternoon by the Civil Air Patrol on privately owned wetlands about 20 miles north of Los Banos, near the western boundary of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. Debris covered a

half mile, according to the Associated Press. The site's only access was by foot or ATV.

FMI: Read The Full NTSB Prelim:

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20070416X00423&key=1

Submitted on 04/24/2007

Submitted by: Keith
Reference: Aero-News.net, 4/21/2007

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
A 1948 Ryan Navion A is definitely NOT a stunt plane designed for "crazy aerobatics". My brother flies stunt planes and I've flown in a Pitts Special with him. Just to properly sit in the Pitts you need to be wearing a parachute, and you strap yourself in very tightly with a 5-point harness. I’ve never been in a Ryan Navion, but seeing as it is a general-purpose airplane and not designed for aerobatics I’m guessing it only has automobile-style 3-point safety belts. Its fuel system probably also isn’t designed for aerobatics, meaning that if they were to attempt to fly inverted (doing a loop, roll, etc) they could easily starve the engine of much-needed fuel. This certainly qualifies as Darwin-grade behavior in my book. Thanks, Keith!

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I flew Navy T-34s (fully aerobatic) and as Bruce said, a flimsy car-style seat belt won't cut it. The T-34 had (like the Navion) a 150 knot cruising speed, but the top speed was considerably higher than the Navion's 160 mph. Aside from starving the engine, I imagine you could easily overstress such an aircraft. Oh, yes...as I recall, we generally drank our 8-10 beers AFTER landing! Thanks, Keith! Two more birds now fly with the angels...

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