Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Grove Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Camas, Washington 98607
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 16:35 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was on a visual flight rules cross-country flight over a sparsely populated area and was maneuvering in the traffic pattern for landing. A pilot-rated witness reported that he observed the accident airplane join what appeared to be the left downwind leg of the runway, about 2,000 feet above ground level. The witness reported that shortly after joining the downwind leg, the airplane banked left and continued in a descending left turn, until it impacted up-sloping terrain northeast of the airport. The airplane wreckage was found about one mile from the destination airport. The wreckage and impact signatures were consistent with a loss of airplane control followed by a steep-angle descent before impact with terrain. Postaccident examination of the engine and airframe revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering in the traffic pattern.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/3/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1635 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Camas |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98607 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 453800N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1222300W |
| Event Location Airport | Grove Field Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1W1 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 429 |
| 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) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KTTD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 39 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.87 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KTTD 032353Z VRB05KT 10SM CLR 28/12 A2987 RM |
| 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) | 30835 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC Seattle |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 5 2013 11:43AM |
| User who most recently changed record | rows |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6297P |
| NTSB Number | WPR11FA367 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-24-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-1408 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 3 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 30 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2483 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MEHRERS STEARMAN NW INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | CANBY |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97013-9363 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Wilbert Lee Mehrer |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | CANBY |
| Operator State | OR |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 97013-9363 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Pendleton |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1525 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 1W1 |
| Destination City | Camas |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 14 2012 2:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 07 |
| Runway Length | 2710 |
| Runway Width | 40 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |