Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
Thursday, October 14, 2004 18:00 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot, accompanied by his two passengers, departed on a local flight with the intention of returning in two hours. After the aircraft failed to return, search and rescue operations began. The aircraft was located the following afternoon in a dense forested area approximately 32 miles southwest of its destination. A witness who was hunting in the general vicinity on the day of the accident observed the airplane approach from the south and circle the area to the northwest in a deliberate manner. The witness was concerned about the airplane's low altitude over the hilly terrain and noted, "...it looked very slow, almost at stall speed, with the tail lower than the front of the airplane." The witness listened for any indication of engine trouble, "...but it was smooth and powerful." The witness observed the airplane disappear over some trees to the east, and about 10 to 15 minutes later it returned overhead, proceeding east again until it was out of sight. The witness found out later that the airplane he observed was the same one which had crashed. Examination of the aircraft revealed no anomalies which would preclude normal operations.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from high terrain while maneuvering. A factor contributing to the accident was the high terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/14/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1800 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Grand Ronde |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97347 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 450103N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1234480W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1755 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 50 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MMV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 163 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 32 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 40 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18845 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Seattle Regional Operations Ce |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 14 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2005 6:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Portland, Oregon |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N454FL |
| NTSB Number | SEA05FA007 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7125249 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1430 |
| Airframe Hours | 4070 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Cirrus Aviation, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4000 SE Cirrus Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | McMinnville |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97128 |
| 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 | MMV |
| Departure City | McMinnville |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1700 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| 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 | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 19 2005 2:56PM |
| 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 | -- |