Evektor Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR N820NG accident near Ocala, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot’s impairment or distraction due to an acute stroke, which resulted in an unstabilized approach and subsequent loss of airplane control during landing.

NTSB analysis

The 78-year-old pilot was landing following a cross-country flight. Witnesses’ accounts indicated that the final approach was unstabilized, the pilot did not attempt a go-around, and the airplane bounced after landing long down the runway. The pilot subsequently lost airplane control and the airplane came to rest inverted in a grassy area about 2,500 ft down and 200 ft east of the runway. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal evidence of a preaccident malfunction or anomaly.

The pilot held no Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate, nor was she required to. Autopsy findings showed an acute stroke in her left basal ganglia, as well as an enlarged heart and hypertensive kidney disease. Personal medical records showed the pilot was being treated for hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, with four medications needed to control her blood pressure. Symptoms of a basal ganglia stroke can include a sudden severe headache, one-sided numbness and weakness, double vision, and loss of coordination; symptoms typically occur over minutes to hours. While it is unknown what symptoms the pilot may have experienced, given the operational aspects of this accident, impairment or distraction would be likely from an acutely evolving stroke. Thus, the pilot’s stroke likely contributed to this accident. Postmortem toxicology testing did not detect any sedating or impairing medications in the pilot’s cavity blood or liver tissue.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA20LA234 for the full record.