Columbia Crest Winery Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Paterson, Washington 99345
Wednesday, August 14, 1996 17:07 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot landed at an airstrip that was not on his planned itinerary for a multi-leg cross-country solo flight. He stated to the airplane owner that he had 'ground-looped' when landing at an airstrip near a winery. During the occurrence, the airplane contacted soft, sandy soil, where the nose landing gear collapsed and the right wingtip struck the ground. The FAA determined that the student had a passenger on board at the time of the accident. The passenger described a loss of control during the approach and landing. The winds were gusty at the time of the occurrence.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the student pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during a landing, which resulted in an uncontrolled ground loop/swerve. Factors relating to the accident were: the gusty crosswind condition, and soft terrain beside the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/1996
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1707
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City PATERSON
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99345
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport COLUMBIA CREST WINERY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WA76
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 640
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 225
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 973
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 15 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1020
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:18AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3882V
NTSB Number SEA96LA208
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Unknown
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150M
Aircraft Series Identifier 150M
Aircraft Serial Number 15076644
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 8
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ELDON FLAHAUT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7825 OLD HWY 99 SE
Aircraft Owner City OLYMPIA
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98501
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code
Departure City UNKNOWN
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 3600
Runway Width 30
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --