Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Keller Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Keller, Washington 99140
Tuesady, July 6, 2010 6:50 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The passenger reported that this was his first flight in an airplane and that the purpose of the flight was to spot cattle in the local area. The passenger stated that prior to taking off the pilot walked around the airplane, then assisted him in getting in the airplane and fastening his seatbelt. The passenger added that, after he boarded the airplane, the pilot went through the checklist and then taxied to the north end of the airstrip. During the taxi the pilot commented to the passenger that it was nice, cool and calm, and that they should not have any problem. The passenger said that they were soon in the air and he felt a jolt, followed by a right bank and the nose going straight down. The passenger did not remember hitting power lines or striking the ground. A postaccident examination revealed that the airplane had impacted near the top of an 85-foot-tall tree about 330 feet from the south end of the departure runway before descending and striking power lines and impacting the ground. A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records for the pilot revealed that the student pilot did not possess a valid FAA medical certificate. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The student pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from obstacles during the initial climb.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/6/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 650 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Keller |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99140 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 460659N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1184158W |
| Event Location Airport | Keller Airstrip |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | NA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1540 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 653 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 302 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OMK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1305 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 45 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| 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) | 30.19 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28824 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 14 2011 9:24AM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1053M |
| NTSB Number | WPR10FA326 |
| 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 | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | J |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15070993 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1660 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 18 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 221 |
| Airframe Hours | 7043 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Fletcher Cattle Co |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mesa |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99343 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Elwyn Fletcher |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Mesa |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99343 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | None |
| Departure City | Keller |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 650 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | None |
| Destination City | Keller |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 9 2011 1:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 21 |
| Runway Length | 2530 |
| Runway Width | 35 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |