Kolb Mark III accident near Richland, WA
On August 14, 2008, a Kolb Mark III (airplane) was involved in an accident near Richland, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 14, 2008
- Place
- Richland, WA
- Aircraft
- Kolb Mark III · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 46.306°N, 119.304°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080819X01261
NTSB summary
On August 14, 2008, about 1400 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Kolb MK III airplane, N18EX, impacted the terrain about one-quarter mile south of the runway at Richland Airport, Richland, Washington. The student pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, was killed in the accident. The airplane, which was owned and operated by the pilot, was being flown in visual meteorological conditions. The pilot reportedly intended to stay in the traffic pattern during the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. No flight plan had been filed. According to witnesses, about 20 minutes prior to the accident flight, the pilot had flown another small experimental or ultra-light airplane. During that flight, the pilot took off from runway 01, climbed to about 200 feet above ground level (agl), and then leveled off. Almost immediately after leveling off, and long before reaching the departure end of the runway, the pilot executed a 180-degree reversal turn that put him on a low-level downwind near the point where he soon turned onto a base leg. This sequence of maneuvers then ended with the pilot rolling out on a short final for a landing. According to the witnesses, this sequence produced a short tight low-level traffic pattern for the pilot. The pilot flew at this airport almost on a daily basis, and it was the opinion of the witnesses that he flew this type of pattern in order to reduce the time it took for him to get around the traffic pattern for another landing in the light slow airplane he normally flew. The witnesses also stated that they believed the pilot had owned the airplane
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed above stall speed while executing a steeply banked turn in the traffic pattern.
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Browse: Washington
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
