Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hood River, Oregon 97031
Thursday, January 20, 2005 20:20 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot, with his two passengers, were returning to Hood River, Oregon, on a dark, low overcast night. Radar data indicates that the airplane flew up the Columbia River, which has mountainous terrain on both sides, and was last recorded at 2,500 feet near North Bonneville, Washington. Family members reported the airplane overdue; no ELT signal was ever received. Search and rescue personnel located the airplane the following day on a ridge approximately 5 nautical miles from the intended destination. There were no survivors. No preimpact engine or airframe anomalies, which might have affected the airplaneā€™s performance, were identified.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing factors were the mountainous terrain, the low ceiling weather conditions, and dark night light conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/20/2005
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 2020
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Hood River
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97031
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 454117N
Event Location Longitude 1214045W
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 2053 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID TTD
Elevation of weather observation facility 39
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 2
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
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) 18536
NTSB Notification Source NW FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jan 21 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 27 2005 6:51AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland, OR

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6057M
NTSB Number SEA05FA038
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cirrus
Aircraft Model SR22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0622
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 35
Airframe Hours 457
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Son-Rise Development, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1510 Columbia St.
Aircraft Owner City Hood River
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97031
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 No
Departure Airport Code SLE
Departure City Salem
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1955
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 4S2
Destination City Hood River
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 15 2005 2:45PM
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 --