Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Goldendale, Washington 98620
Saturday, January 8, 1983 12:30 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The aircraft failed to arrive at its destination and was declared missing on January 10, 1983. Search and rescue efforts along the route of flight were suspended on January 15, 1983. An area forecast indicated a series of fronts moving across the Pacific Northwest. The forecast indicated ceilings below 1,000 feet and visibility below 3 miles in fog. Additionally, the forecast for Oregon and Washington east of the Cascade mountain range revealed thin broken to overcast clouds from 5,000 to 7,000 feet, occasional visibility between 3 and 5 statute miles in light rain and fog, and mountains occasionally obscured in clouds and precipitation. The outlook was for marginal visual flight rule conditions. There was no record of the pilot requesting a weather briefing, but prior to his departure air traffic control advised the pilot that SIGMETS for severe turbulence and icing in clouds were in effect along the route of flight. Air traffic control subsequently recommended that the pilot contact Seattle Flight Watch for detailed information; there is no record of the pilot contacting Seattle Flight Watch. Subsequent to departure communications with Yakima tower, there was no further contact with the accident airplane. On August 30, 2005, the airplane wreckage was located approximately 15 nautical miles north-northwest of Goldendale, Oregon. The first impact point was evidenced by damage to the top of a tree grove prior to the main wreckage impact area. The energy path extended approximately 340 feet on a magnetic heading of 138 degrees. Photographs revealed that the airplane was destroyed. The cockpit was unrecognizable, with two sections of a seat located 75 feet from the main wreckage area. The engine came to rest in an upright position separated from the airframe and both propeller blades remained attached to the propeller flange. There was no postcrash fire and no planned recovery of the wreckage.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight and in-flight planning, which resulted in flight into adverse weather conditions and clearance from trees not maintained. Factors contributing to the accident included the clouds, low ceilings, and turbulence.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/8/1983 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Goldendale |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98620 |
| Event Date Year | 1983 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 460228N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1205059W |
| 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 | 1152 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 3 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | YKM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1095 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 41 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2905 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 40 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 24 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.99 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19441 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 30 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 28 2006 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Spokane, Washington |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8807R |
| NTSB Number | SEA83LA209 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bellanca |
| Aircraft Model | 14-19-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 4159 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2600 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Max Shaffer |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Long Beach |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90805 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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 | YKM |
| Departure City | Yakima |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1149 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Long Beach |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 12 2006 11:14PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |