Piper PA-28-140 accident near Cle Elum, WA
On July 25, 2004, a Piper PA-28-140 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cle Elum, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 25, 2004
- Place
- Cle Elum, WA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 47.194°N, 120.897°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040803X01133
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 24, 2004, approximately 1850 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-140, N1912H, impacted a tree about one-half mile southwest of Cle Elum Municipal Airport, Cle Elum, Washington. At the time of the accident, the pilot was maneuvering at a very low altitude in an attempt to get back to the Cle Elum Airport. The private pilot and one of his passengers received serious injuries, one passenger received fatal injuries, and one passenger received minor injures. The aircraft, which is owned by Zephyr Aviation, and operated by Noland-Decoto Flying Service, was substantially damaged. The14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Cle Elum Airport about three minutes before the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological condition. No flight plan had been filed. It is unknown whether there was an ELT activation. On the day of the accident, the pilot had scheduled the aircraft for a flight at 1000, but there was reportedly a mix-up in scheduling and the operator had planned on using the aircraft for student training until about 1400. Therefore, the pilot rescheduled the aircraft for 1600 that same afternoon. He arrived at the airport about 1600, completed his preflight inspection, and was ready for departure by 1645. During the preflight inspection, the pilot detected a small amount of sediment in the fuel drain samples he took, but he did not consider this significant, so he continued preparation for the flight and entered a comment about the sediment in the aircraft rental log. After his initial takeoff, the pilot performed one touch-an
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to obtain and maintain a safe rate of climb after takeoff, due to his failure to perform pre-takeoff weight/balance and takeoff/climb performance calculations. Factors include a high density altitude environment, and trees off the departure end of the runway.
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Browse: Washington · Piper 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.
