Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Friday Harbor, Washington 98250
Saturday, April 10, 2004 11:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

In a written statement the pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice aerobatics in the local area. He reported that shortly after rolling the airplane inverted, to accomplish a "belt check", oil appeared on the airplane's windscreen and canopy. The oil on the windscreen impaired the pilot's vision and he elected to return to the departure airport and land. He stated that the airplane touched down on the left edge of the runway, encountered rough/uneven terrain and the nose gear collapsed. The pilot stated that he had not tightened the engine oil cap prior to departure. The oil cap was later found laying on the ground in the run-up area of the airstrip.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to properly align with the runway. Factors include rough/uneven terrain, inadequate preflight planning and diminished forward visibility.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/10/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1145
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Friday Harbor
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98250
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 483145N
Event Location Longitude 1230350W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 15792
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N14026
NTSB Number SEA04CA068
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 Yakovlev
Aircraft Model Yak 54
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 04002
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Todd L. Roberts
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Friday Harbor
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98250
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Friday Harbor
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Friday Harbor
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2004 6:20PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --