Cessna 150 N10616 accident near Fernandina Beach, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot’s physical impairment due to intense pain, which resulted in his failure to maintain airplane control.

NTSB analysis

The commercial pilot was returning to his home airport during a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, during the flight, he experienced a pain in his right shoulder, followed by intense pain in his left shoulder. Although he had experienced pain previously in his right shoulder during long car rides, he had never experienced pain in his left shoulder before. Due to the intense pain, the pilot contacted air traffic control, declared an emergency, and requested that an ambulance wait for his arrival. He attempted to line up to the runway for landing but was unable to do so. The airplane impacted a berm and nosed over about 1/2 mile from the airport. The pilot could not recall any other details after that time. The pilot extricated himself from the inverted airplane and was subsequently taken to a hospital. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.

During the pilot's postaccident hospital evaluation, no definitive reason for the pain was found. However, considering the pilot's recollection, the intense pain he experienced likely impaired his ability to safely control the airplane and resulted in the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA15LA114 for the full record.