Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Western Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Yelm, Washington 98597
Monday, June 16, 2003 18:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Prior to the flight the pilot-rated passenger and first pilot discussed who would operate the aircraft. The passenger would occupy the left seat and taxi the airplane to the active runway, while the first pilot would occupy the right seat and do the flying. The passenger did not remember if the parking brake was set or released prior to beginning his taxi, but did remember that the aircraft did not pull to the left or right while taxiing. Upon reaching the active runway and getting the airplane lined up, the first pilot took control of the airplane and advanced the throttle. The passenger said he didn't feel like the airplane was accelerating properly, and when he asked the first pilot if the airplane was accelerating properly, the first pilot replied, "Yes." As the airplane continued down the runway on its takeoff roll, and sensing the airplane was still not accelerating, the passenger asked the first pilot if he wanted him to put some flaps on. The first pilot replied, "No," and there were no further communications between the passenger and first pilot. The airplane continued off the end of the runway and through a 66 foot grass overrun before going over an embankment and impacting trees. The aircraft subsequently came to rest inverted at the bottom of a ravine. The fuselage and tail section of the aircraft were oriented up and parallel to the slope of the ravine, while the nose and left wing of the aircraft were partially submerged in the adjacent canal which borders the edge of the ravine. Witnesses to the accident thought the pilot was doing a high speed taxi, that the airplane reached a maximum speed of approximately 50 miles per hour, and that there was no attempt to abort the takeoff roll. Several witnesses reported that the engine didn't sound right, was making noises, and was not running smoothly. A post accident examination of the airframe, engine, and propeller did not reveal any anomalies which would have precluded normal operation of the aircraft.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the pilot to abort the takeoff roll. Factors contributing to the accident included the failure of the aircraft to accelerate for undetermined reasons and the trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/16/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1830 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Yelm |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98597 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 465525N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1123250W |
| Event Location Airport | Western Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 92W |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 75 |
| Airport Elevation | 390 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1854 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 262 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OLM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 206 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1697 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15578 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 16 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1905 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2004 1:28PM |
| 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 | N6723K |
| NTSB Number | SEA03FA106 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Downer |
| Aircraft Model | RC-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1006 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2980 |
| 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 | Aug 20 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 1851.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Douglas K. Gentzkow |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Redmond |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98053 |
| 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 | -- |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 92W |
| Departure City | Yelm |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1830 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | S36 |
| Destination City | Kent |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - roll/run |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 18 2004 5:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 09 |
| Runway Length | 2846 |
| Runway Width | 30 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |