# Accident 20091010054089A: Taylorcraft BC12-D1, Skokomish, WA, October 10, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 10, 2009, 13:00 local time
- Place: Skokomish, WA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 47.3400° N, 123.1844° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.3400&lon=-123.1844&mi=10
- Aircraft: N44362, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N44362-2012-11-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Taylorcraft BC12-D1 (registry code 8850320, https://openairdocs.org/model/taylorcraft-bc12-d1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C65 series (registry code 17003, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: TAYLORCRAFT BC12-D1
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Sport pilot, student
- Pilot flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR10FA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10FA223) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20091010054089A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON OCTOBER 10, 2009, ABOUT 1300 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A TAYLORCRAFT BC12-D1, N44362, DEPARTED HARVEY FIELD, SNOHOMISH, WASHINGTON, FOR AN UNDETERMINED LOCATION.  WHEN THE SPORT PILOT FAILED TO RETURN THAT EVENING, HE WAS REPORTED OVERDUE/MISSING. THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM ORGANIZED A SEARCH EFFORT THAT LASTED ABOUT ONE WEEK. AS OF THE TERMINATION OF THAT SEARCH, NEITHER THE AIRPLANE NOR THE PILOT HAD BEEN FOUND.  ON APRIL 30, 2010, TWO INDIVIDUALS PICKING SALAL ON THE DENSELY FORESTED LANDS OF THE SKOKOMISH TRIBAL RESERVATION ABOUT 1.3 MILES NORTHWEST OF SKOKOMISH, WASHINGTON, DISCOVERED THE SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WRECKAGE OF THE AIRPLANE AND THE REMAINS OF THE PILOT. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO THE PILOT, AND WAS BEING OPERATED UNDER TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. ON THE DAY OF THE FLIGHT, VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED THROUGHOUT THE REGION. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED, AND THE PILOT DID NOT TELL ANYONE WHAT HIS PLANNED DESTINATION WAS. THE AIRPLANE DID NOT HAVE AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT) ON BOARD.  ABOUT FOUR DAYS AFTER THE BEGINNING OF THE SEARCH EFFORT, THERE WAS A REPORT FROM AN INDIVIDUAL IN WESTPORT, WASHINGTON, STATING THAT HE BELIEVED HE MAY HAVE TALKED WITH THE PILOT IN THE WESTPORT AREA ON THE AFTERNOON OF OCTOBER 10, AND THAT THE PILOT HAD DEPARTED THERE BETWEEN 1600 AND 1700. ALTHOUGH IT COULD NOT BE POSITIVELY CONFIRMED THAT THE PERSON THIS INDIVIDUAL TALKED TO WAS THE PILOT, HE DID GIVE INFORMATION TO SEARCH AND RESCUE PERSONNEL THAT CONVINCED THEM THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE, IF NOT LIKELY, THAT IT ACTUALLY HAD BEEN THE PILOT OF N44362 THAT HE TALKED WITH. BASED ON THAT INFORMATION, SEARCH AND RESCUE PERSONNEL SOUGHT RECORDED RADAR COVERAGE INFORMATION FOR THE AREA BETWEEN HARVEY FIELD AND WESTPORT, AND SWITCHED THEIR SEARCH TO THE AREA ALONG THE ROUTE FROM WESTPORT, WASHINGTON TO SNOHOMISH, WASHINGTON. THE CRASH SITE, WHICH IN ADDITION TO BEING IN A DENSE FOREST, WAS COVERED WITH A DENSE GROWTH OF SALAL AND WILD HUCKLEBERRIES. THE SITE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 1.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF A DIRECT LINE BETWEEN WESTPORT AND SNOHOMISH.FAA PERSONNEL HAVE HAD LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF THE PILOT AND MAINTENANCE LOGS BOOKS TO DATE.  PILOT IS DECEASED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR10FA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10FA223), Oct 11, 2009: Taylorcraft BC12-D1 (N44362), Skokomish, WA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees while flying over hilly, forested terrain.

## Other reports on N44362 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20100430032799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100430032799A), Apr 30, 2010: Taylorcraft BC12-D1 (N44362), Skokomish, WA, Destroyed, 1 fatal. On October 10, 2009 about 1300 pacific daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC12-D1 departed harvey field smohomish, Washington, for an undetermined location. When the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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