North American SNJ-5C accident near Winlock, WA
On August 14, 1998, a North American SNJ-5C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Winlock, WA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 14, 1998
- Place
- Winlock, WA
- Aircraft
- North American SNJ-5C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 46.480°N, 122.870°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10952
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 13, 1998, approximately 1830 Pacific daylight time, a North American SNJ-5C airplane, N766CA, was destroyed when it collided with trees and terrain while maneuvering in the vicinity of Pilot's Pasture airstrip, near Winlock, Washington. The commercial pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight had originated at Vancouver, Washington, where the airplane had been refueled, and the destination was the Pilot's Pasture airstrip. There was no report of an ELT actuating. There was a post-crash fire. Witnesses, at a residence beside Pilot's Pasture airstrip whom the pilot was going to visit, observed the airplane make a low pass to the east along the east-west runway of the airstrip, followed by an 8-point roll, a 90-270 degree course reversal, and another low pass to the west with a pull-up into either a loop or cuban-eight maneuver. Just after attaining the top of this last maneuver, the airplane was rolled out with a heading change toward the south and a loss of altitude, where it was observed to be near level attitude before the left wing dropped and it disappeared from view due to obscuration by trees. Impact was heard shortly after the airplane disappeared from view. One witness familiar with both the pilot and the airplane had noted a slight hesitation at the top of the loop or cuban-eight maneuver. He observed that the winds aloft were quite strong from the north, which may have caused the airplane to drift south of the east-west runway, so that terrain clearanc
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude during attempted low-level aerobatics.
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Browse: Washington · North American aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
