On June 8, 2024, about 1614 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Murphy Moose, N9695W, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Ocean Shores, Washington. The pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot reported that due to his injuries, he did not recall any events of the accident flight.
A pilot-rated witness at the airport reported that while working in his hangar he observed the accident airplane’s approach to the runway and thought it was too steep for the wind conditions. The airplane landed hard and bounced back into the air about 4 ft; a gust of wind caught the left wing, pushing the airplane downwind to the right toward marshland. The witness stated that the engine powered up, but the airplane stalled and was in a nose-low attitude when it impacted the ground.
Witnesses located near the accident reported that they observed the accident airplane approach runway 33 from the south, touch down on the runway, then become airborne again to the north. The witnesses stated that shortly thereafter, the airplane banked to the right and descended to the ground in a nose-low attitude.
About 21 minutes before the accident, the automated weather observation station at Bowerman Airport, Hoquiam, Washington, located about 10 miles east of the accident site, reported that the wind was from 260° at 15 knots. About 39 minutes after the accident, the wind was reported to be from 270° at 9 knots. Witnesses located at Ocean Shores Municipal Airport (W04), reported that it was a “windy day” at the time of the accident.
The calculated crosswind component at the time of the accident was about 14 kts. According to the airplane’s pilot operating manual, the maximum crosswind is 14 kt.
ADS-B data showed that the airplane departed Apex Airpark (8W5) at 2229:46 and ascended to about 1,200 ft mean sea level (msl) before turning to the southwest. The airplane continued on a southwesterly heading and ascended to an altitude of about 3,100 ft msl. The airplane remained on the southwest heading and made a series of altitude changes. At 2312:12, the flight track data shows the airplane made a series of course and altitude changes, consistent with flight to the Ocean Shores Municipal Airport traffic pattern. At 2313:52, the flight track shows the airplane landed at the airport, with a –100 ft altitude. At 2314:00 the flight track data shows the airplane making a right turn to the east and climbing. The last recorded ADS-B target, at 2314:07, was located about 50 ft south of the accident site at an altitude of 100 ft.
The airplane was equipped with an Appareo Stratus 3i GPS/WAAS receiver and ADS-B receiver. The receiver communicated wirelessly with compatible devices to display all the acquired information. The receiver also records GPS position and AHRS information internally on a non-volatile flash memory chip. The receiver was removed at sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for download. The flight track data from the recovered GPS receiver was similar to the ADS-B data, with the exception of the recorded time, the onboard receiver time was PDT (local time) and the ADS-B was UTC.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane impacted the ground about 150 ft east of runway 33. All major structural components of the airplane were located at the accident location. The fuselage and both wings were substantially damaged.
Subsequent examination of the recovered airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The cockpit area was fragmented, and the forward fuselage structure was mostly destroyed. The engine, engine mount, firewall, instrument panel, and flight controls, were separated and impact damaged. Both wings and empennage were separated from the airframe. The aft section of the fuselage exhibited crushing consistent with buckling and compression throughout. Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit flight controls to the respective flight control surfaces. All areas of separation within the flight control cables and torque tubes exhibited signatures consistent with overload or having been cut by recovery personnel to facilitate recovery.