19860219004809A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Piper PA15 · Mount St Helens, WA · February 19, 1986

Date
February 19, 1986 · 17:30 local
Place
Mount St Helens, WA
Phase of flight
Unauth Low Level Opns
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N4521H
NTSB investigation
NTSBSEA86LA061
Reported as
Piper PA15
Reported engine
Continental A758
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
75 total2 in this make and model0 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Wingtip struck lava dome after encountering a downdraft. Aircraft impacted inside the dome.

As the FAA filed it

WINGTIP STRUCK LAVA DOME AFTER ENCOUNTERING A DOWNDRAFT. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED INSIDE THE DOME.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.