Snohomish County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Everett, Washington 98204
Tuesady, June 26, 2007 14:40 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the takeoff on runway 34L seemed normal until he raised the flaps. The pilot then heard a "big bang [that] shook the entire airplane" and he noticed that the canopy had come unlatched. Concerned that the canopy could possibly depart the aircraft and damage the tail, the pilot declared an emergency and circled left to land on runway 11. The pilot aligned the aircraft with the runway, but the airplane's airspeed was excessive for a normal touchdown point. When the pilot realized that he was "too fast", he pulled the throttle to idle and pulled the mixture out to stop the engine. The aircraft did not touchdown until it reached the numbers at the departure end of the runway. During the landing roll, the aircraft rolled across taxiway Golf, runway 16L-34R, and taxiway Foxtrot. The aircraft continued to roll off the taxiway surface, through the airport perimeter fence and onto a public street, where it encountered uneven terrain and nosed over, coming to rest upside down.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Excessive airspeed during a return for landing which resulted in an overrun. An unlatched canopy, a proper touchdown point not attained and rough terrain were factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/26/2007
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1440
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Everett
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98204
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 475437N
Event Location Longitude 1221722W
Event Location Airport Snohomish County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PAE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 606
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
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 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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
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) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22283
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 Oct 31 2007 7:09AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3715
NTSB Number SEA07CA185
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hammer
Aircraft Model Thorp T-18
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 66
Certified Max Gross Weight 1440
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 251
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert Hammer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Kirkland
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98033
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Robert Hammer
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Kirkland
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
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 PAE
Departure City Everett
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PAE
Destination City Everett
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing after takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 23 2007 8:01PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 4500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --