Archer S-18T N102PM

Summary

On 11 July 2003 at about 21:55 local time, a Archer S-18T registered N102PM was involved in an accident near Arlington, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 July 2003 at 21:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Arlington, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Arlington Municipal (AWO)

Coordinates

48.1500, -122.1650

Aircraft

Archer S-18T

Registration

N102PM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Scappoose → Arlington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA134

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain an airspeed above Vs (stalling speed) while making a close-in base-to-final turn.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who was arriving at Arlington less than ten minutes prior to the time the field was to be closed for an air show, was instructed by the tower to turn base early in order to sequence him in front of an aircraft he was in trail of. Although he was instructed to turn base early so that he could land adjacent to a set of cones set near mid-field, the pilot did not see the cones most of the time he was on base leg. He said that while on base he did not see the cones until the last minute, and when he did, he initiated his turn to final. At the point he started the turn, he was approximately 50 feet above the surface, and because he was so close to the runway, he steepened his turn to near 60 degrees. During the turn the airplane stalled and rolled to a position where the wings where 90 degrees to the ground. The pilot then released back pressure, applied corrective rudder and aileron, and was able to get the wings level, but almost immediately thereafter the aircraft impacted the surface of the runway with sufficient force to result in substantial damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.