History of Flight
On March 11, 2018, at approximately 1257 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150, registration N4511Y, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Daybreak Airport (WA46) in La Center, Washington. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Flying M Airport (OR05) in Yamhill, Oregon, at 1030.
Earlier that morning, the accident pilot met with another pilot, and they decided to fly as a flight of two. After departing OR05, they proceeded north and landed at Woodland State Airport (W27) in Woodland, Washington. En route to their respective home airports, they decided to fly to WA46 to conduct touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. The other pilot stated that the accident pilot departed W27 first; however, when the other pilot arrived at WA46, he did not see the accident airplane in the traffic pattern. He circled above WA46 and observed the wreckage in a wooded area near the approach end of runway 31.
A witness at WA46 reported seeing the accident airplane climbing approximately 150 ft above runway 31. Near the north end of the airport, the airplane began a low left turn to the south. The witness estimated that the airplane leveled off at about 250 ft and continued out of sight. Moments later, he heard a series of three loud bangs, followed by the sound of a full-power engine, then another loud bang, and then an abrupt stoppage of all sound.
Review of recorded data from an Appareo Stratus PRX V2 onboard the airplane revealed that it departed W27 about 1250 and flew southeast while climbing to approximately 450 ft GPS altitude. Around 1255:30, the airplane had descended to about 200 ft and entered the left downwind leg of the WA46 traffic pattern. It overflew the grass runway from south to north and then turned onto a left downwind leg. The airplane began to slow from 50 knots at 1256:39 and banked up to 25° right before entering a dramatic left bank. The last recorded data point at 1256:47 showed the airplane at a GPS altitude of 130 ft, groundspeed of 11 knots, pitch angle of 8°, and left bank angle of 105°.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings. He was issued a Federal Aviation Administration third-class airman medical certificate on February 9, 2017, with the limitation "must have available glasses for near vision." On that application, he reported 1,503 total hours of flight experience, with 51 hours in the previous 6 months. Review of the pilot's logbook, with the last entry dated July 31, 2017, indicated he had accumulated 1,024.7 total hours.
Aircraft Information
The two-seat Piper PA-18-150, serial number 18-8983, was manufactured in 1971. It was equipped with a Lycoming O-320-A2B engine (serial number L-29519-27A) driving a fixed-pitch, two-bladed McCauley propeller. According to maintenance records, the most recent annual inspection was completed on June 21, 2017, at an engine and airframe total time of 1,150.49 hours.
Meteorological Information
An automated weather observation recorded about 2 minutes before the accident at Scappoose Industrial Airpark (SPB), Scappoose, Oregon, located about 10 nautical miles west of the accident site, reported calm wind, temperature 16°C, dew point 1°C, no clouds, no restrictions on vertical visibility, and an altimeter setting of 30.16 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located approximately 530 ft from the approach end of runway 31 on a bearing of 228° from the runway. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) consisted of several broken limbs at the top of a 140-ft-tall tree. A piece of the left wing landing light lens was found beneath that tree. A debris path of broken tree limbs continued on a heading of about 120° to the main wreckage, which came to rest about 142 ft from the FIPC and was oriented on a heading of 270°.
The airplane impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude. The propeller hub and one blade were embedded about 2 ft in the ground; both blades remained attached to the hub. The fuselage came to rest on its right side and exhibited twisting throughout. The empennage remained attached and was bent upward. The vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, rudder, and elevators were intact and undamaged. Both wings and the fixed main landing gear remained attached to the fuselage. The cockpit area with the instrument panel was crushed and displaced forward into the firewall.
The propeller remained attached to the engine. The crankshaft was rotated by hand, and thumb compression was obtained on all cylinders. Engine drive train continuity was established throughout. Both magnetos were rotated by hand, and spark was observed at all ignition leads. The oil pickup screen was clear of debris. The carburetor was intact and remained attached to the engine; the throttle, mixture, and carburetor heat cables remained attached. Disassembly of the carburetor revealed no anomalies. There was no evidence of pre-impact mechanical anomalies or malfunctions of the engine or airframe.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Clark County Medical Examiner in Vancouver, Washington. The autopsy report stated that the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt impact injuries. The FAA's Forensic Sciences Laboratory conducted toxicology tests on specimens from the pilot; the results were negative for all tests performed.