Pilot shoots self and crashes KIFP

Gaines said Saturday that there was no record of a flight plan for Joseph’s plane. He said Monday the Federal Aviation Administration repeated that no flight plan was submitted.
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Well, he was doomed from the start, then.
 
Thats bad. Honestly, what did he have against the airplane, land first and save the plane. Maybe he was afraid he would miss and the crash was his backup strategy.
 
Jayhawk said:
Well, he was doomed from the start, then.
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That and the fact that the plane was EXPERIMENTAL! :hairraise:

Those clinical plane trials are nasty... I wonder if they'll have to include "May cause suicidal thoughts or death" on the all the warnings.
 
Maybe it wasn't suicide. Maybe he was in the act of crashing and knew it was unsurvivable, took out a pistol, and shot himself so he wouldn't be alive at the moment of impact?
 
We had a guy here locally that took his C172 out to sea and purposely ditched it in the ocean. Left a note in his truck. Honestly, in the scheme of things, that's not the worst way to go, off into the sunset then a little dive...
 
guardrail said:
We had a guy here locally that took his C172 out to sea and purposely ditched it in the ocean. Left a note in his truck. Honestly, in the scheme of things, that's not the worst way to go, off into the sunset then a little dive...
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Gotta disagree, if he decided to commit suicide, why not give his plane away last minute, help another pilot out? And why put people on the ground at risk by killing himself while still at the controls? I'm not in a position to judge the act, but I've got a problem with the method he used.
 
I would have to purposely run it out of fuel. My sense of survival would have me survive the crash and then get eaten by sharks or something.

A couple years ago we had a guy that took his buddy's airplane out flew it around in the early hours then nosed it right into the middle of the runway. He had been drinking and left a note also. I think he was in the middle of a divorce as well. Life can have you do some really stupid stuff,
 
"A self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head has been ruled as the cause of death of an Arizona man whose kit-built airplane crashed Saturday at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport."

“There is no way to speculate what was going through his mind at the time of accident.”

You mean, other than the bullet?
 
Jayhawk said:
Gotta disagree, if he decided to commit suicide, why not give his plane away last minute, help another pilot out? And why put people on the ground at risk by killing himself while still at the controls? I'm not in a position to judge the act, but I've got a problem with the method he used.
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Perhaps he had some hair brained scheme to defraud his life insurance.....maybe the policy wouldn't pay if it was ruled suicide, and perhaps he didn't expect an autopsy after the crash.

No idea if that was the case....just throwing it out as a possibility.
 
Jayhawk said:
Gotta disagree, if he decided to commit suicide, why not give his plane away last minute, help another pilot out? And why put people on the ground at risk by killing himself while still at the controls? I'm not in a position to judge the act, but I've got a problem with the method he used.
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I meant the person in the C172 went out in a semi-favorable way, who did he risk by crashing into the open ocean? He went out doing something he loved, probably looking at a beautiful scene too...

This guy is a little different.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Perhaps he had some hair brained scheme to defraud his life insurance.....maybe the policy wouldn't pay if it was ruled suicide, and perhaps he didn't expect an autopsy after the crash.

No idea if that was the case....just throwing it out as a possibility.
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This. I think you may have stumbled on the real reason, maybe thought the post crash fire would take care of the evidence...?
 
except for a recently fired pistol in the wreckage...
 
Fearless Tower said:
Perhaps he had some hair brained scheme to defraud his life insurance.....maybe the policy wouldn't pay if it was ruled suicide, and perhaps he didn't expect an autopsy after the crash.

No idea if that was the case....just throwing it out as a possibility.
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Could be, not really sure how he figured someone would miss a recently fired gun in the wreckage, though

guardrail said:
I meant the person in the C172 went out in a semi-favorable way, who did he risk by crashing into the open ocean? He went out doing something he loved, probably looking at a beautiful scene too...

This guy is a little different.
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Yeah, true, different case as far as putting people at risk. Still can't understand destroying a perfectly good airplane, though.
 
Jayhawk said:
Could be, not really sure how he figured someone would miss a recently fired gun in the wreckage, though

Yeah, true, different case as far as putting people at risk. Still can't understand destroying a perfectly good airplane, though.
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I don't know that the man had the best decision making skills given the event anyhow...
 
Cirrus crash on april 10th was a similar deal. Pilot took pills after departure and passed out. Except that he survived the crash.
 
guardrail said:
We had a guy here locally that took his C172 out to sea and purposely ditched it in the ocean. Left a note in his truck. Honestly, in the scheme of things, that's not the worst way to go, off into the sunset then a little dive...
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Watch this guy :frown2:...just playing.......I think
 
Fearless Tower said:
Perhaps he had some hair brained scheme to defraud his life insurance.....maybe the policy wouldn't pay if it was ruled suicide, and perhaps he didn't expect an autopsy after the crash.

No idea if that was the case....just throwing it out as a possibility.
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Why not spin it in? That would be almost as quick as the bullet and leave less speculation on suicide. Strange deal.
 
We had a local guy that was going to be arrested for child molestation rent a plane and make a smokin hole. It was a 172.
 
LDJones said:
The parachute activated itself??!:dunno:
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Dont believe so. Just says 'impacted terrain'.

NTSB Identification: WPR13LA186
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in Silver Peak, NV
Aircraft: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22, registration: 205KT
Injuries: 1 Serious.
On April 10, 2013, about 0950 Pacific daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation, N205KT, was substantially damaged during impact with terrain after the pilot became incapacitated during cruise flight near Silver Peak, Nevada. The private pilot, the sole occupant on board, was seriously injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated from Las Vegas, Nevada, an unknown time. A flight plan had not been filed.

Witnesses reported that an airplane had crashed in the desert near Alum Pit mine in Esmeralda County. Local law enforcement personnel responded to the accident site and found the pilot unconscious in the cabin. Two Federal Aviation Administration inspectors interviewed the pilot in the hospital, and he stated that he attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills soon after takeoff.

Last year, a local pilot at Robertson airport in Connecticut took out a rental 172, flew a lap over Long Island sound and returned to the airport around dusk. The airport is on a slight plateau, he came up short and impacted the berm that surrounds the airport. Died in the resulting post-crash fire. It turns out he had just been informed that a warrant had been issued on some 10-15 year old criminal sexual conduct with a minor charges against him. So either he just wanted to exercise his freedom to fly before that (and other freedoms) would be taken away from him and happened to have an accident, or it was another case of suicide by plane, albeit a rather unusual one as it lacks the 'grand gesture' aspects that are often associated with it (the pilot had expressed thoughts of suicide to a family member in the month prior to the incident). The file number is ERA12FA483.

This is all pretty sad. I know the military puts some energy into suicide awareness, I wonder whether GA should put some effort into it as well. While you can't allways stop a sufficiently motivated individual, often you can.
 
Corpsmaide said:
Watch this guy :frown2:...just playing.......I think
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haha, I don't think you need to worry about me chosing death over life. There's wayy to much stuff to see and do here on earth for me to choose departing early. I was just commenting that compared to some other means of suicide, flying out over the ocean and ditching seems to be a more beautiful, even poetic, means of getting the job done. The guy was in a bad spot in his life, made a decision to end it, but did so in kind of a romantic way; would I do that? Hell no.
 
JB1842 said:
Maybe it wasn't suicide. Maybe he was in the act of crashing and knew it was unsurvivable, took out a pistol, and shot himself so he wouldn't be alive at the moment of impact?
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I looked at my wife the other night and said...Honey maybe I should buy a small one shot gun and stick it in my airplane for if I flip this plane and it catches fire I will not be able to get out. I could shoot myself in the head instead of burning alive.

She just looked at me....I said...These are the things I thing about....lol
 
Not buying any of this.

The FAA medical procedure prevents people with mental issues from flying.
 
If only he had been required to pass a background check before buying the gun!!

Oh wait, he probably did.
 
He probably was flying into IFP to catch a flight and realized it was going to be on Allegiant Air . . .
 
I met a lady who was in the middle of a divorce. Husband bought an airplane to meet a girlfriend. The wife was serious about taking the plane away in the divorce.

Maybe this guy was covetous over his airplane and didn't want to lose it in divorce or bankruptcy court. Just a theory.
 
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