Golden Circle T BIRD UNREG

Summary

On 22 September 2023 at about 21:46 local time, a Golden Circle T BIRD registered UNREG was involved in an accident near Arlington, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 September 2023 at 21:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Arlington, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO)

Coordinates

48.1608, -122.1590

Aircraft

Golden Circle T BIRD

Registration

UNREG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arlington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23FA351

1 person died.

A failure of the forward left wing spar due to an improper repair, which resulted in an inflight separation of the left wing. Contributing to the accident was improper maintenance by splicing the wing spar.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noncertificated pilot was performing taxi tests in his unregistered experimental amateur-built airplane. A witness reported that the airplane departed the runway and flew erratically as it briefly flew away from the airport and then reappeared over a tree line. The video of the accident sequence showed that, as the airplane flew over the airport, it made several uncoordinated turns, rapid pitch changes and erratically yawed right to left multiple times. In the airplane’s final seconds of flight, it began a steep right bank during which the left wing separated and the airplane fell to the ground. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the forward left wing spar failed in overload due to an improper repair that included splicing the spar and rejoining it with a sleeve. The spar failed in flight, which resulted in a failure of the left wing, a subsequent loss of control and rapid descent. The examination did not reveal any other preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology testing detected the presence of ethanol in one tested liver specimen, and the pilot’s use of methamphetamine, cannabis, and amitriptyline. The ethanol was not detected in two other tested specimens (including another liver tissue specimen), which indicates that it was likely from sources other than alcohol consumption. The measured levels of methamphetamine were high enough to indicate a general likelihood that the pilot was experiencing associated impairing effects at the time of the crash. However, the precise nature and severity of his impairment cannot be determined from available evidence. Whether the pilot’s use of cannabis or amitriptyline would have resulted in impairment could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.