Sky Harbor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sultan, Washington 98294
Saturday, April 21, 2001 16:43 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after departure, during the initial climb out, the airplane collided with trees and terrain approximately 1,000 feet beyond the departure end of the turf runway. A witness to the accident (a certified pilot) reported that the airplane appeared to stall just before colliding with trees. The pilot stated that he noted a decreasing airspeed just before colliding with tree tops. Post-accident examination of the airplane by personal from the NTSB, Cessna Aircraft and Textron Lycoming revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from trees and terrain during the airplane's initial climb.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/21/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1643
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Sultan
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98294
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Sky Harbor
Event Location Nearest Airport ID S86
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 70
Airport Elevation 282
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 260
Weather Observation Facility ID PAE
Elevation of weather observation facility 606
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 11000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10601
NTSB Notification Source FAA-REGIONAL OPERATIONS
NTSB Notification Date Apr 14 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1704
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Sep 27 2001 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Seattle, Washington

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8402E
NTSB Number SEA01LA076
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172 N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17272194
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 26 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 14
Airframe Hours 6211
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Todd A. Curtis
Aircraft Owner Street Address 16826 E. Interurban Road
Aircraft Owner City Snohomish
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98296
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Sonhomish
Operator State --
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98296
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 WA64
Departure City Sultan
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1643
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code WA64
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Sep 10 2001 1:26PM
User who most recently changed record RANS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 07
Runway Length 1930
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --