Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Greenwater, Washington 98022
Saturday, August 16, 2003 15:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness who was staying in a campground in close proximity to the accident site reported hearing a small plane flying in a southerly direction, and as it passed overhead "the engine missed once, and then caught again and continued running as the plane continue south." As the plane continued south the witness stated that he did not hear any additional problems, but the engine appeard to be running somewhat roughly, and as the plane continued further south he assumed everything was ok. Several minutes later he heard sirens moving south. Examination of the wreckage revealed the airplane went down steeply between two trees, there was no fire, and there was a significant fuel spill. Examination of the airframe, flight controls, engine assembly and accessories revealed no evidence of a precrash mechanical failure or malfunction. All components necessary for flight were present at the crash site. An autopsy on the pilot revealed artherosclerosis of coronary arteries, focal, moderate to marked, and atherosclerosis of aorta, mild. "Toxicological tests indicated nordiazepam (0.024 ug/ml) detected in blood, and nordiazpam, oxazepam, and temazepam detected in urine."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while manuevering for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/16/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1545
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Greenwater
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98022
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 470118N
Event Location Longitude 1213147W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1555 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 275
Weather Observation Facility ID GRF
Elevation of weather observation facility 302
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 50
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
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) 25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 2
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15248
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 16 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1708
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2004 8:14AM
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 N2054F
NTSB Number SEA03LA170
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name AVID
Aircraft Model Magnum
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 35M
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 36
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John A. Harper
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City SeaTac
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98188
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
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 1S0
Departure City Puyallup
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1515
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 21W
Destination City Greenwater
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - downwind
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 22 2004 5:05PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --