Amateur-built JSX-2 N465JC accident near Shreveport, Louisiana

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with the water while performing aerobatics, resulting in the airplane’s impact into a lake. Contributing was the pilot’s decision to perform aerobatics at low altitude.

NTSB analysis

Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast track data showed the airplane take off and shortly thereafter maneuver low-level over the lake until track data was lost.

A witness reported that he and several others saw the airplane fly across the lake at an altitude of about 200 ft above the water. The witness reported that just before the accident he saw the airplane roll to the right until it was inverted and then it abruptly nosed down and impacted the water in a near vertical attitude. Another witness reported seeing the airplane performing a barrel roll over the lake during the previous week.

The airplane's wreckage was recovered and examined. Airframe damage showed that the airplane impacted the water in a near-vertical, nose-low, right-wing-down attitude. Flight control continuity was confirmed, and the engine and engine control unit showed no preaccident malfunctions or failures that could have contributed to the accident.

Toxicology testing showed the pilot had used the potentially impairing drugs sertraline, bupropion, quetiapine, gabapentin, and pramipexole. However, is not possible to reliably predict the combined effects of these drugs or how they affected any impairment from underlying medical conditions the pilot had. In addition, the small amount of ethanol detected may have been produced after the pilot’s death.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN21FA230 for the full record.