Piper PA 18-150 N4511Y

Summary

On 11 March 2018 at about 19:57 local time, a Piper PA 18-150 registered N4511Y was involved in an accident near La Center, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 March 2018 at 19:57

Classification

Accident

Location

La Center, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Daybreak (WA46)

Coordinates

45.8303, -122.6375

Aircraft

Piper PA 18-150

Registration

N4511Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Yamhill → Yamhill

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR18FA104

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees while maneuvering at a low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot departed on a personal flight in day visual meteorological conditions to conduct touch-and-go takeoffs and landings at a nearby airport. Onboard data indicated that the pilot flew a left traffic pattern at the destination, then overflew the runway. A witness near the accident site saw the airplane climbing about 150 ft above the runway. The airplane turned left and remained in the traffic pattern; the witness stated that the airplane appeared to level off about 250 ft then disappeared from his view. Moments later, he heard a series of three loud bangs, followed by a full-power engine sound, another loud bang, and "an abrupt stoppage of all sounds." Review of recorder data revealed that right before the impact, the airplane's speed was 11 knots groundspeed, with the pitch angle of 8° and the left bank angle of 105° at the GPS altitude of 130 ft.  Survey of the accident site indicated that the airplane impacted a 140-ft tall tree while in a left turn and came to rest on the ground about 150 ft south-east from the initial tree strike. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot did not maintain a sufficient altitude necessary to avoid collision with the trees. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation, and autopsy and toxicology of the pilot did not reveal any evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.