Arlington Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Arlington, Washington 98223
Monday, February 24, 1997 12:45 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot, who reported approximately 132 hours of flight experience of which one and three-quarters hour were in this make/model aircraft, intended to conduct high speed taxi tests of the aircraft, and then transition directly to a flight test. During the first taxi test run down the runway the pilot rotated and 'the aircraft lifted off rapidly and steeply.' The pilot reported that he was able to successfully re-land but felt that he had 'over-controlled' the aircraft.' After returning to the threshold of runway 34 he initiated a second taxi run down the runway and reported that 'just before I planned to shut down the engine it (the aircraft) lifted off just as abruptly as the first time at a very steep attitude, also higher than before, about 20 feet.' During the attempted recovery the aircraft struck the runway nose down and left wing low and slid to a stop. An observer to the accident located near an adjacent taxiway reported a wind gust coincident with the time of the second nose rotation. Winds at the Arlington airport were reported as 300 degrees magnetic at 10 knots at 1253 hours.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's lack of total experience in the type of aircraft and the gusty wind conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/24/1997
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City ARLINGTON
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98223
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ARLINGTON MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AWO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 137
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID AWO
Elevation of weather observation facility 137
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 747
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 24 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1255
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:08PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N36P
NTSB Number SEA97LA068
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hemingway
Aircraft Model VARIEZE
Aircraft Series Identifier VARIEZE
Aircraft Serial Number 1271
Certified Max Gross Weight 1050
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Feb 24 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 6
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HEMINGWAY, JAMES, R.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 34377 HOOD CANAL DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City KINGSTON
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98346
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
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 Taxi
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 34
Runway Length 5333
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --