Yakima Air Terminal/Mcallister Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Yakima, Washington 90903
Thursday, March 27, 2014 17:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings with the flight instructor during gusting crosswind conditions. On the fifth touchdown, the tailwheel equipped airplane bounced and the student increased engine power. The airplane settled back down to a three-point landing. During the ground roll, the right wing lifted up and the instructor applied full right aileron, down elevator, and full right rudder control. The wing continued to lift, and the airplane began to turn left. The instructor applied full engine power as the airplane departed the runway. The left wing touched the ground and the airplane continued another 50 feet, rotating onto the right wing, and then nosing over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings during the accident sequence. The pilot's reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswind conditions and the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision, resulting in a loss of directional control during the landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/27/2014
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Yakima
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 90903
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 463403N
Event Location Longitude 1203220W
Event Location Airport YAKIMA AIR TERMINAL/MCALLISTER
Event Location Nearest Airport ID YKM
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 101
Airport Elevation 1099
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2353 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KYKM
Elevation of weather observation facility 1099
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.72
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KYKM 272353Z COR 30014G22KT 10SM BKN080 16/M
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32775
NTSB Notification Source FAA NWM ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2014 1:33PM
User who most recently changed record eckd
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N553GW
NTSB Number WPR14CA150
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 JUST AIRCRAFT LLC
Aircraft Model HIGHLANDER
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number JAE5C0106
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320
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 Jan 17 2014 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 260
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Paul Wheatley Jr.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Thorp
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98946
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name David D Lake
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Yakima
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98902
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code YKM
Departure City Yakima
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code YKM
Destination City Yakima
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 7 2014 11:58AM
User who most recently changed record sime1
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 7604
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --