5 January 2007
The US NTSB has issued a ‘probable cause’ accident report in which the ‘pilot’s ostentatious display and impairment due to alcohol’ are cited as factors.
The aircraft involved was an RV6, and the crash took place early on 24 July 2006 near Hartselle, Alabama.
The pilot involved – 66-year-old Thomas Coggins – was a former judge. He had been arrested in 1981 and charged with possession of marijuana and concealing a firearm after a flight; he was later investigated for irregularities during his time on the bench. He served 17 months of a three-year sentence for the drug vioations.
The judge was well-known, according to locals, for his high speed passes and aerobatics around and over the airfield, and on the morning of the crash he was last seen making a steep bank near a witness’ house. The wreckage was later found in a nearby field.
A pathologist’s report found ethanol in the pilot’s blood (.061 percent), urine, and vitreous fluid.
The NTSB report finds that the probable cause of the accident was ‘failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering resulting in an inadvertent stall and collision with trees and the ground’, with displaying and alcohol as factors.
