Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
North Bend, Washington 98045
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 1:54 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the local flight, which took place in dark night visual meteorological conditions, several witnesses reported observing the airplane’s lights at a low altitude and hearing the airplane’s engine running before the sound of impact. One witness, a certificated pilot, estimated that when he saw the airplane there was an overcast layer of clouds about 2,000 feet mean sea level (msl) with some lower level clouds and patchy areas of fog. Recorded radar data showed the flight departing the airport and ascending to an altitude of about 2,400 feet msl while traveling in a northeasterly direction. The data subsequently showed that the airplane descended on an east-southeasterly heading to an altitude of about 1,500 feet msl before radar contact was lost. The last recorded radar target was about 6 miles northwest of the accident site, which was located at an elevation of about 1,958 feet msl. The terrain along the pilot’s route of flight ranged between about 500 and 1,000 feet msl; the accident occurred as the airplane approached an area of rising (mountainous) terrain. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology tests of the pilot revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 154 mg/dl. Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit operation of an airplane by persons with blood alcohol concentrations exceeding 40.0 mg/dL. It is likely that the pilot was impaired during the flight, which affected his ability to operate the airplane and maintain clearance from terrain.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's physical impairment due to alcohol, which adversely affected his ability to operate the airplane and to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain while operating in dark night conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/15/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 154 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | North Bend |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98045 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 472951N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1214456W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 153 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 250 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RNT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 32 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2800 |
| 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) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 2 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.25 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30953 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA 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 | Feb 4 2013 12:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N665SP |
| NTSB Number | WPR12FA105 |
| 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 | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 172S |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 172S8069 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 10 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5477 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CHRISTIANSEN AVIATION INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WILMINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19803-2908 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Rob Hill |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Federal Way |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 98027 |
| 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 | RNT |
| Departure City | Renton |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 135 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | RNT |
| Destination City | Renton |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 4 2013 12:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |