Arlington Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Arlington, Washington 98223
Saturday, March 22, 1997 14:15 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was landing on the 1500 foot long grass runway; while on approach to avoid glider operations, he kept too much airspeed and landed long on the grass, which he stated was freshly cut. He noted that Luscombes have notoriously bad brakes and they did not slow him down sufficiently after touchdown. As no airplanes were at the end of the runway, he opted to try to steer left. The right landing gear collapsed at about 15-20 miles per hour. Witnesses observed that the airplane failed to slow down and ground-looped beyond the end of the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Landing long (improper touchdown point) and collapse of the main landing gear during an intentional swerve or groundloop. Factors include excessive airspeed on approach.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/22/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1415
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 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ARLINGTON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ARL
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 137
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 20000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Overcast
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
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) 339
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 22 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:10PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1184K
NTSB Number SEA97LA073
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 Luscombe
Aircraft Model 8A
Aircraft Series Identifier 8A
Aircraft Serial Number 3911
Certified Max Gross Weight 1240
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 15
Airframe Hours 2500
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JEFFERY C. HILL
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5306 138TH ST NE #2
Aircraft Owner City MARYSVILLE
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98271
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code AWO
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 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 16
Runway Length 1500
Runway Width 30
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --