What happened
On September 6, 2024, at approximately 12:59 Pacific daylight time, a Boeing A7CO (registration N53466) was involved in an accident near Yacolt, Washington. The aircraft was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight, traveling as part of a group of three airplanes.
The flight departed from Ed Carlson Memorial Field/South Lewis County Airport (TDO) in Toledo, Washington, with an intended destination of Ken Jernstedt Airfield (4S2) in Hood River, Oregon. While the group was flying in loose trail, the pilot of a trailing aircraft observed two of the planes turn east/southeast near Woodland, Washington, while the accident aircraft maintained a southerly course. The pilot of the trailing aircraft reported hearing the pilot of N53466 state, “this is the cut we’re going to take,” after which no further communications were received.
After the other two aircraft arrived at their destination, the pilots reported the third aircraft as overdue, leading to an Alert Notice (ALNOT) being issued at 16:37. A United States Coast Guard rescue helicopter and Skamania County Sheriff ground search and rescue teams located the wreckage approximately 12 miles southeast of Yacolt.
In the accident, there was 1 fatal injury and 1 serious injury.
The investigation
At the accident site, located at an elevation of approximately 2,751 feet mean sea level, the aircraft was found in a nose-low attitude on a heading of approximately 110° magnetic. The wreckage was positioned at the base of a tree roughly 100 feet tall. Investigators noted multiple impact scars on the tree from the base up to about 50 feet, with several branches found within the wreckage. All major structural components of the aircraft were recovered at the site and moved to a secure facility for examination.