Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Bremerton National Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bremerton, Washington 98337
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 16:35 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Radar data showed the airplane 3 miles south of the airport on an easterly heading when it turned right and continued to track to the north; radar data terminated about 4 miles northwest of the airport near the accident location. Search-and-rescue personnel found the wreckage in a heavily wooded remote area of mountainous terrain at the 1,300-foot level. Freshly scarred branches and limbs indicated the first point of contact with a series of trees. Wreckage signatures and tree/ground scars were consistent with level flight. According to a certified flight instructor (CFI), the pilot purchased the airplane about 1 month before the accident. The CFI flew the airplane with the pilot for about 26 hours. The CFI reported that he did not endorse the pilot’s logbook and recommended that the pilot find a local instructor for further training. A postaccident toxicological examination showed elevated levels of acetaminophen, metoprolol, and oxycodone in the pilot’s blood and urine. Warnings associated with oxycodone include “may impair mental and/or physical ability required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks (e.g., driving, operating heavy machinery).” However, the available data was inconclusive about whether the pilot was impaired by the oxycodone. Severe coronary artery disease was found during autopsy, and that, combined with the presence of oxycodone, may have contributed to the accident, but the evidence is inconclusive about whether they were causal.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot did not maintain clearance from terrain for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s use of oxycodone and his severe coronary artery disease.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/17/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1635 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Bremerton |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98337 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 473200N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1224707W |
| Event Location Airport | Bremerton National Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KPWT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 4 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 444 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1635 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 145 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KPWT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 444 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 4 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 10000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 700 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 4 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.74 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KPWT 180035Z AUTO 17011KT 10SM SCT007 SCT014 |
| 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) | 29738 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 18 2012 10:52AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N273MA |
| NTSB Number | WPR11FA061 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT |
| Aircraft Model | 8GCBC |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 460-2004 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 1 |
| 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 | Apr 23 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 98 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SILVERADO MANAGEMENT LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | MISSOULA |
| Aircraft Owner State | MT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 59806-4747 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Richard E. Nims |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Silverdale |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 98383 |
| 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 | KPWT |
| Departure City | Bremerton |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1632 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | KPWT |
| Destination City | Bremerton |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 23 2012 12:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 19 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |