Golden Circle T BIRD accident near Arlington, WA
On September 22, 2023, a Golden Circle T BIRD (airplane) was involved in an accident near Arlington, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 22, 2023
- Place
- Arlington, WA
- Aircraft
- Golden Circle T BIRD · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 48.161°N, 122.159°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230923193119
Official records · WPR23FA351
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On September 22, 2023, about 1446 Pacific daylight time, an unregistered experimental, amateur-built Golden Circle T-Bird II was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Arlington, Washington. The noncertificated pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a witness who was standing in front of a hangar at Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO), he observed the accident airplane complete a series of what appeared to be practice takeoff maneuvers on the west side of the airport during which the airplane would become momentarily airborne. During the airplane’s final takeoff maneuver, it lifted off the ground toward the south and turned right. The airplane narrowly missed impacting trees before it disappeared behind hangars and trees on a northwesterly heading. The airplane reappeared, and the witness stated that it “looked like it was going to dive towards the runway” before the left wing separated in flight. Video of the accident flight taken from the east side of the airport showed the airplane appear above a group of trees on an easterly heading, approaching from the west side of the airport. The airplane turned toward the south and yawed rapidly before it turned to the southeast. Approximately 20 seconds later, the airplane then turned to an easterly heading and exhibited erratic changes in pitch and yaw. The airplane then turned right toward the northeast, crossed over runway 16/34, and continued to turn right at a steep bank angle, at which time it entered a nose-lo
Probable cause
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.
More accidents in WA
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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.
