Piper PA-12 accident near Burlington, WA
On October 8, 2009, a Piper PA-12 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Burlington, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 8, 2009
- Place
- Burlington, WA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-12 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 48.471°N, 122.421°W
- NTSB ID
- 20091009X21520
Official records · WPR10FA009
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 8, 2009, about 1305 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N2087C, impacted the terrain after lifting off from Runway 28 at Skagit Regional Airport, Burlington, Washington. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed by the accident sequence, and the airplane, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight took place in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. According to family members and friends of the pilot, he began a near total rebuild/restoration of the airplane about six months prior to the accident. Although most of the work was done at his home, since the project was nearly completed, he brought the airplane to Skagit Regional Airport on a trailer sometime within the two weeks prior to the accident (the exact date was not determined). Individuals who talked with the pilot after the airplane was brought to the airport said that his plan was to complete what remained of the rebuild there at the airport, and then to have it inspected and signed-off by an airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic with Inspection Authorization (IA) who had helped him with project sign-offs in the past. According to the aforementioned A&P/IA mechanic, the pilot talked to him about doing a pre-signoff inspection on a specific weekend near the end of September, but he was not available then, and suggested the subsequent weekend instead. Reportedly, the pilot indicated he did not want to wait that long, and that he would try to get another A&P/IA
Probable cause
The pilot's in-flight loss of control due to his failure to correctly connect the elevator control cables during the restoration/rebuild of the airplane. Contributing to this accident was the pilot's decision to perform a high-speed taxi test prior to having the airplane inspected by a certificated mechanic, which resulted in inadvertent flight.
More accidents in WA
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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.
