History of Flight
On April 29, 2019, at approximately 1413 Pacific daylight time, a Vans Aircraft RV-6, registration N90LK, was substantially damaged in an accident near La Center, Washington. The pilot and a flight instructor were fatally injured. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight.
According to the pilot's wife, the purpose of the flight was to accomplish a flight review, and the pilot planned to meet the instructor at the airport around 1330. The instructor's daughter reported that he frequently flew to Daybreak Airport (WA46) in La Center for landing and takeoff practice.
Around 1515, a pilot landing at WA46 observed wreckage in a pond located beneath the final approach path to runway 31. Radar data review identified two targets: one was the accident airplane; the other was the airplane that discovered and reported the wreckage.
The initial radar return with altitude data occurred at 1404:33 at an altitude of 1,100 ft, about half a mile northeast of Grove Field (1W1) in Camas, Washington. The airplane proceeded on a northerly heading for approximately 11 miles before turning west toward WA46. It flew parallel to the runway at 2,500 ft mean sea level (msl). The airplane then executed a descending 180° left turn and entered a left downwind for runway 31, leveling off at about 500 ft above ground level (agl). The final radar target at 1413:42 showed the airplane nearly abeam the runway 31 threshold, at about 500 ft agl.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest upright in a shallow (1-2 ft) floodplain pond along the extended centerline of runway 31, approximately 1,000 ft from the threshold. The aircraft was in an approximate 15° nose-down attitude on a heading of about 130°. All major structural components remained attached or partially attached.
The pond contained numerous upright flagged sticks marking planted saplings, spaced 3-5 ft apart. Almost all sticks surrounding the airplane, including some beneath the raised empennage, were undisturbed.
The fuselage was fractured and buckled at both the firewall and aft cockpit bulkhead. The engine and cowl were displaced upward and to the right; the aft fuselage also shifted rightward. The lower forward fuselage exhibited significant upward crush damage, and both fixed main landing gear legs and wheel assemblies were displaced aft and upward.
Both wings remained attached with substantial leading edge crush damage aft. The flaps and cockpit flap handle were found fully retracted. The left aileron separated at its outboard end but remained attached inboard; the right aileron was fully attached. The left wing fuel tank cap was missing, but the right cap was present and secure. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers, balance weights, and control surfaces remained attached and undamaged.
The engine was partly mud-covered, with no evidence of catastrophic mechanical failure. The two-blade metal propeller remained attached; one blade was bent aft, and the other was essentially undamaged.
Bird remains were discovered on the right (outboard) arm or clothing of the flight instructor. Upon removal of dry mud from the engine, additional bird remains were found in multiple areas, including feathers embedded near the upper right engine mount attachment bolt and around the engine-driven fuel pump. Examination revealed no preexisting mechanical malfunction. Flight control continuity was established to all primary surfaces.
Bird remains were analyzed by the Feather Identification Lab of the Smithsonian Institution and identified as consistent with an adult Green-Winged Teal, a species common to the region and the specific accident locale (flooded field).
Medical and Pathological Information
The Clark County Medical Examiner (Vancouver, Washington) performed autopsies on both the pilot and the instructor. The cause of death for both was listed as "multiple blunt force injuries." The instructor's autopsy revealed no significant natural disease.
The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory conducted toxicology tests on the pilot: no carbon monoxide or ethanol were detected; salicylate and ibuprofen were found in urine. For the instructor, no carbon monoxide, ethanol, or tested-for drugs were detected.