Evektor-Aerotechnik As Sportstar Plus accident near Marysville, Ohio, March 5, 2010
On March 5, 2010 at about 1:57 pm local time, a Evektor-Aerotechnik As Sportstar Plus, registered N930LA, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Marysville, Ohio. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper decision to initiate and continue a flight into instrument meteorological conditions that led to spatial disorientation and a loss of control during cruise flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 5, 2010 · about 1:57 pm local time
- Place
- Marysville, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Evektor-Aerotechnik As Sportstar Plus · all Sportstar Pluss on the register
- Registration
- N930LA · no longer on the register · serial 20070930
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The sport pilot departed on a cross-country flight without a flight plan and there was no record of a weather briefing for the route of flight with forecasted instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Recorded radar data showed that as the airplane approached the area of IMC, it changed heading and altitude and tracked southward, which was then followed by a descending turn with increasing airspeed. The airplane impacted a field in a nose-down attitude. The pilot was taking three different medications to treat his diabetes, which would have increased his risk for impairment due to excessively low blood sugar. He had been using a medication for respiratory symptoms combining a narcotic and an antihistamine, both of which have potentially impairing effects. He also may have taken another medication containing the same antihistamine. He had been using a stimulant typically prescribed for weight loss and a sedative previously prescribed for insomnia. He was at high risk for, and had previously been noted to possibly have, obstructive sleep apnea, which can cause severe fatigue and resultant impairment. The pilot may have been impaired or distracted by symptoms of his medical conditions or by effects of medications used to treat those conditions. The extent to which such possible impairment or distraction may have contributed to the accident is unclear. The crash severity precluded the determination of the existence or absence of substantive pre-existing disease, or the determination regarding when medications may have most recently been used. The pilot did not have a Federal Aviation Administration airman medical certificate, nor was he required to for a sport pilot certificate. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise)
- Loss of control in flight during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Total instrument experience › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Weather planning › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- factor Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › (general) › Effect on personnel
- Personnel issues › Physical › Impairment/incapacitation › Prescription medication › Flight crew
Pilot
- Certificate: sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 186 hours in all; 186 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 86 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 5, 2008
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HFY Indianapolis IN at 12:16 pm
- Destination: UCP New Castle PA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 200 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 1:59 pm from MRT, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N930LA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.