Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Brewster, Washington 98812
Tuesady, November 13, 2001 15:15 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that this was the first flight after the aircraft had been completely restored. The start, taxi and takeoff were normal. During the climb, at about 150 feet AGL, the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot was unable to return to the airport, therefore he chose to land on a Highway that parallels the airport. The road was initially clear of traffic until a truck came over a rise. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft to the side of the road and just before touch down, the left wing struck a tree which spun the aircraft to the left. The main landing gear collapsed and the right wing contacted the surface. After the accident, the pilot immediately exited the aircraft, then returned to secure the cockpit when it was safe. The pilot found that the magneto switches, which are unguarded toggle switches located on the lower left side of the wall, were off. The pilot reported that he did not recall turning off the switches prior to exiting the aircraft. After the aircraft was moved back to the airport, the engine was started and run for several minutes with no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction noted.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The magneto was inadvertently switched off by the pilot during the climb. A tree was a factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/13/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1515 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Brewster |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98812 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OMK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1301 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 23 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 5 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 130 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.77 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11558 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 13 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1545 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2002 1:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Spokane, Washington |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5762A |
| NTSB Number | SEA02LA013 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-5733 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 |
| 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 | Nov 10 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0.2 |
| Airframe Hours | 2233 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael J. Port |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 22 D Wagner Rd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Twisp |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98856 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | David C. Smith |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 21 Airport Rd |
| Operator City | Brewster |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 98812 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Brewster |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| 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 | Climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 19 2002 2:11PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |