# NTSB SEA03LA134: Archer S-18T, N102PM, Arlington, WA, July 11, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 11, 2003, 14:55 local (21:55 UTC) - Place: Arlington, WA - Coordinates: 48.150001, -122.165 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.1500&lon=-122.1650&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Seattle FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 57459 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA03LA134 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57459/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA03LA134 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain an airspeed above Vs (stalling speed) while making a close-in base-to-final turn. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, approach - vfr pattern - base leg/base to final - airspeed(vs) - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall/mush - inadvertent, pilot in command - In flight collision with terrain/water, approach - vfr pattern - base leg/base to final - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The pilot, who was arriving at Arlington less than ten minutes prior to the time the field was to be closed for an air show, was instructed by the tower to turn base early in order to sequence him in front of an aircraft he was in trail of. Although he was instructed to turn base early so that he could land adjacent to a set of cones set near mid-field, the pilot did not see the cones most of the time he was on base leg. He said that while on base he did not see the cones until the last minute, and when he did, he initiated his turn to final. At the point he started the turn, he was approximately 50 feet above the surface, and because he was so close to the runway, he steepened his turn to near 60 degrees. During the turn the airplane stalled and rolled to a position where the wings where 90 degrees to the ground. The pilot then released back pressure, applied corrective rudder and aileron, and was able to get the wings level, but almost immediately thereafter the aircraft impacted the surface of the runway with sufficient force to result in substantial damage. ## Factual narrative On July 11, 2003, approximately 1455 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Archer S-18T, N102PM, impacted the surface of the runway during a low-level base-to-final turn at Arlington Municipal Airport, Arlington, Washington. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Scappoose Industrial Airport, Scappoose, Oregon, about 55 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. There was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, who was arriving at Arlington less than ten minutes prior to the time the field was to be closed for an air show, the tower instructed him to turn base early in order to sequence him in front of an aircraft he was in trail of. Although he was instructed to turn base early so that he could land adjacent to a set of cones set near mid-field, the pilot did not see the cones most of the time he was on base leg. He said that while on base he did not see the cones until the last minute, and when he did, he initiated his turn to final. At the point he started the turn, he was approximately 50 feet above the surface, and because he was so close to the runway, he steepened his turn to near 60 degrees of bank. During the turn the airplane stalled and rolled to a position where the wings where 90 degrees to the ground. The pilot then released back pressure, applied corrective rudder and aileron, and was able to get the wings level, but almost immediately thereafter the aircraft impacted the surface of the runway with sufficient force to result in substantial damage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N102PM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N102PM), registered now, S/N 001, built 2002 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Archer S-18T - Registry model: [Archer Michael S-18T](https://openairdocs.org/model/archer-michael-s-18t) (registry code 056130O) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-360-series) (registry code 41575, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 001 - Airframe hours: 34 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-C1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Michael Archer - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 2003, 6 hours before - Departed: SPB, Scappoose, OR - Destination: AWO, Arlington, WA - Airport: AWO, Arlington Municipal, runway 34, 5,333 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 21, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 1,071 total, 34 in this make and model, 1,035 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 320° at 5 knots - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030711015759A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030711015759A), Jul 11, 2003: Yaklev YAK18T, Arlington, WA, Substantial damage. (-23) Minutes prior to the commencement of airshow activities, the pilot was asked by ATCT personnel to turn base and land beyond "the cones" which apparently… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.