Accident Details
On June 7, 2024, about 1140 Pacific daylight time, a Beech A45, registration N268AF, was destroyed when it crashed near Deer Harbor, Washington. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was being operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. It was based at Skagit Regional Airport (BVS) in Burlington, Washington, and stored in a museum facility founded by the pilot.
The pilot's son, who was working at the museum that day, reported that the pilot arrived in the morning appearing to be in good spirits. The pilot stated his intention to perform an “Orcas run,” a flight around the San Juan Island archipelago with a pass over his previous home on Orcas Island. The son noted that a touch-and-go landing at Orcas Island Airport (ORS) would not be unusual for such a trip.
The pilot boarded the airplane about 1050. At 1100, a family friend received a text message from him indicating he would fly past her house near his old home on the western shore of Orcas Island around 1140. The friend stated that such flights were not unusual and that this was the first one he had performed that year. She described that he typically performed two flybys and sometimes rocked the airplane's wings but never performed aerobatic maneuvers.
Witness Accounts
Limited Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data was available, but radar data from the Federal Aviation Administration showed a target departing BVS about 1113, transmitting a 1200 beacon code with no altitude information. The target flew a western track toward ORS generally following shorelines. At 1125:32, it was aligned on final approach for ORS runway 34. About four minutes later, the target had departed the airport area and was tracking southwest. Over the next nine minutes, it flew a series of passes along the coastline of the San Juan Channel. By 1137:30, it was heading north along the west coast of Orcas Island.
The friend reported hearing the familiar sound of the airplane around this time and observed it overhead traveling north along the shoreline in front of her house. The airplane then flew behind trees and out of view. She heard what sounded like a left turn to the south. The airplane then came into view rolling out on a south heading, flying over the water but higher than before. After it passed, she saw the left wing drop, which she initially thought was part of the pilot's usual routine. However, the wing continued dropping as the airplane began a rapid descent toward the water.
Another witness located along the same shoreline about one-third mile to the north heard what he thought was a vintage airplane. He went out onto his deck and began recording with his phone. At the start of the recording, the airplane was inverted with a slight nose-down attitude heading generally south. Over the next three seconds, it transitioned to an almost vertical dive. As it approached the water, it began to pull out of the dive, now facing the opposite direction. By the time it recovered to an almost wings-level, upright attitude, the right wingtip struck the water, and the airplane spun across the water on a northern trajectory.
Wreckage and Investigation
The fuselage was located about 1,700 feet west of the last radar target in approximately 30 feet of water. Most of the wreckage was recovered from the channel during the following week and has been stored for further examination. At the time of the preliminary report publication, no other witnesses to the accident had come forward. The investigation is ongoing.