Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Martin Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
College Place, Washington 99324
Monday, December 13, 2010 15:50 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot had just performed four uneventful takeoffs and landings in light and variable wind. He then deplaned a passenger and departed for a short local flight. About 20 minutes later, he returned to land on the same runway. He noted that the sun was low on the horizon, and as he turned the airplane onto the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, his view became completely obscured by the sun's glare. He maneuvered the airplane in an unsuccessful attempt to see the runway, and the airplane subsequently struck trees located approximately 250 feet to the right of the runway. The airplane departed controlled flight and struck the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot stated that he did not correct for a crosswind during the final approach, and the airplane drifted from the runway centerline. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A Safety Board computer program used to calculate the position of the sun and moon was used and the sun disk was determined to be 1.8 degrees above the western horizon on an azimuth of 233.2 degrees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to abort the landing when he lost sight of the runway due to sun glare, and his inadequate compensation for the crosswind.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/13/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1550 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | College Place |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99324 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 460301n |
| Event Location Longitude | 1182431w |
| Event Location Airport | Martin Field Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | S95 |
| 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 | 746 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1553 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 60 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ALW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1194 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28066 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 13 2011 6:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N36041 |
| NTSB Number | WPR11LA076 |
| 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 | TAYLORCRAFT |
| Aircraft Model | BC12-65 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3008 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1200 |
| 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 | Feb 4 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6 |
| Airframe Hours | 2457 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CHENEY DAVID |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WALLA WALLA |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99362-8267 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | CHENEY DAVID |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WALLA WALLA |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99362-8267 |
| 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 | S95 |
| Departure City | College Place |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1530 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | S95 |
| Destination City | College Place |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 13 2011 6:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 23 |
| Runway Length | 3819 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |