Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Crest Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Kent, Washington 98042
Friday, May 9, 2008 16:45 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot had recently installed an overhauled carburetor and new air inlet on the airplane. Because the airplane had not been flown for about nine months, the pilot drained all of the old fuel out of the airplane and refueled it. Witnesses reported that the pilot performed an extensive engine run up that lasted 10 to 15 minutes, and with satisfactory results, the pilot decided to take the airplane around the airport traffic pattern. A witness based at the airport said that during the initial takeoff, the engine sound was smooth. As it continued, the witness heard the engine running rough. When the airplane flew past the witness about 300 feet above the runway, the witness saw two puffs of white smoke. The airplane appeared to have adequate airspeed and it was still climbing, although the engine was cutting out. The engine then cut out completely and the airplane continued straight ahead for about 1 second. The airplane entered a slow turn to the right, and when it had turned approximately 160 degrees, the right wing stalled and the airplane rolled into a spin. The airplane went out of view of the witness in a nose-down attitude of approximately 70 degrees. A friend of the pilot who was based at the airport said that when departing to the north as the pilot had done, there are limited options available for emergency landings. The fuel valve was found in the closed, or "off", position. Based on the length of the engine run up, the fuel selector was undoubtedly positioned correctly at takeoff and was most likely moved to the closed position by the pilot when he determined that a forced landing was inevitable. Post accident examination of the wreckage did not disclose any pre-impact mechanical anomalies. Due to damage sustained to the carburetor, no functional testing could be performed.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident were the lack of a suitable landing area and the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering in response to the loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/9/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1645 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Kent |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98042 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 472013N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1220612W |
| Event Location Airport | Crest Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | S36 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 472 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KSEA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 433 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 15 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.08 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24763 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 9 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 22 2008 11:09AM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-SEA-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8613A |
| NTSB Number | SEA08LA127 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Thorp |
| Aircraft Model | T-18 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 48 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | Oct 16 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0.5 |
| Airframe Hours | 3313.5 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Roger Thompson |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Kent |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98042 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Roger Thompson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Kent |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 98042 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | S36 |
| Departure City | Kent |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1640 |
| 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 | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 10 2008 12:27PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 3288 |
| Runway Width | 40 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |