- Date
- September 26, 2002, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Shaw Island, WA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N736PJCessna R172K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 8, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Seattle FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020926028689A
- Case key
- 55781
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for ambient wind conditions. Factors include the pilot's misjudgment of distance/altitude, gusting crosswinds, and trees growing near the edge of the airstrip.
Analysis
The pilot, who operates in and out of the private airstrip on a regular basis, tried to get the aircraft on the ground before reaching a point where there is an opening in the trees, in order not to be effected by the crosswinds that were blowing. Because his approach was inadvertently higher than he had planned, the aircraft was still in the air when it reached the opening, and a very strong crosswind gust hit the aircraft from the left. Upon encountering the gust, the aircraft's left wing rose upward and the aircraft started to drift off to the right side of the runway. Although the pilot attempted to realign the aircraft with the runway, he was unable to do so before a second gust lifted the wing even higher. As he was trying to compensate for the effects of the wind gusts, the aircraft drifted further to the right and impacted coniferous trees growing just off the right side of the airstrip.
Factual narrative
On September 26, 2002, approximately 1330 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna R172K, N736PJ, collided with trees during an attempted landing at Shaw Island Airstrip, Shaw Island, Washington. The private pilot and his passenger received minor injuries, and the aircraft, which is owned and operated by Nimbus Corporation, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, which departed Anacortes, Washington, about 10 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. The ELT, which was activated by the accident sequence, was turned off at the scene.
According to the pilot, who operates in and out of the private airstrip on a regular basis, he tried to get the aircraft on the ground before reaching a point where there is an opening in the trees, in order not to be effected by the crosswinds that were blowing. Because his approach was inadvertently higher than he had planned, the aircraft was still in the air when it reached the opening, and a very strong crosswind gust hit the aircraft from the left. Upon encountering the gust, the aircraft's left wing rose upward and the aircraft started to drift off to the right side of the runway. Although the pilot attempted to realign the aircraft with the runway, he was unable to do so before a second gust lifted the wing even higher. As he was trying to compensate for the effects of the wind gusts, the aircraft drifted further to the right and impacted coniferous trees growing just off the right side of the airstrip.
According to the pilot, there was no indication that there had been any malfunction of the aircraft's systems or its flight controls.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N736PJ
- Reported as
- Cessna R172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- R1722678
- Airframe hours
- 1,851
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-K1, 195 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Nimbus Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 21, 2002 · 60 hours before
- Departed
- 74S · Anacortes, WA
- Destination
- Shaw Island, WA
- Airport
- Shaw Island Airport, runway 36, 1,800 × 80 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- January 4, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 293 total · 234 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.