Taylor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rainier, Washington 98576
Thursday, March 14, 2002 14:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was attempting to land to the southwest on a grass runway. As he cleared the tree line, the pilot reduced power and increased his sink rate. The pilot noticed that the aircraft was descending too fast and added power, however, the airplane continued to settle and collided with trees. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain approximately 100 feet short of the intended runway. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper decent rate on approach. A factor was the trees in close proximity to the airport.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/14/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Rainier
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98576
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 465400N
Event Location Longitude 1224005W
Event Location Airport Taylor Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3WA0
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 470
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1354 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID KOLM
Elevation of weather observation facility 204
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2900
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.23
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 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11911
NTSB Notification Source FAA-REGIONAL OPERATIONS
NTSB Notification Date Mar 14 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1515
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 18 2002 10:15AM
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 N8065A
NTSB Number SEA02LA054
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 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20917
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Mar 14 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0.2
Airframe Hours 2132.6
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James M. Pugsley
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Rainier
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98576
Operator is an individual? Yes
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? --
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 No
Departure Airport Code WA72
Departure City YELM
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1353
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 3WA0
Destination City RAINIER
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 1 2002 4:42PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 1600
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --