No fatalities

2 Jul 2011: PIPER PA-18 — JULIETT LIMITED — Enumclaw, WA

Enumclaw, WA, United States

On 2 Jul 2011, a PIPER PA-18 operated by JULIETT LIMITED was involved in an aviation accident near Enumclaw, WA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during an encounter with a mountain wave and downdraft landing. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot experienced downdrafts from a mountain wave during final approach, resulting in a hard landing that caused the aircraft to slide off the runway and strike a guard railing, substantially damaging the fuselage frame.

Approach and Initial Downdraft

The pilot was making an approach to an airstrip for a brief stop. After overflying the field, he determined the wind was variable from the north and began his approach. On final, he observed an above-average loss of altitude and speed due to a large mountain wave coming over the foothills to the west. He added power to compensate for the downdraft and continued the landing approach.

Final Descent and Hard Landing

Once clear of some trees at the approach end of the runway, the pilot reduced power to idle. He was then pushed down by another downdraft. To arrest the airplane's descent, he applied full power, but did not have enough speed at that time to avoid a hard landing. The airplane slid off the runway and into a guard railing, which substantially damaged the fuselage tubular frame.

Damage and Aftermath

The fuselage tubular frame was substantially damaged. The pilot did not report any injuries. No further details about the aircraft or location were provided in the source.

Contributing factors

Airspeed — Not attained/maintainedPilotResponse/compensation