- Date
- June 21, 2004, 12:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Glenoma, WA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N27135Piper J-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Seattle FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040621014019A
- Case key
- 59479
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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the trees while maneuvering at a very low level in hilly terrain. Factors include hilly terrain, and thickly forested slopes in the area where the pilot was maneuvering.
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.
Analysis
Just prior to the accident, the aircraft was observed flying very low and slow through the hilly terrain just east of the east end of Riffe Lake. The airplane then made a steeply banked turn, reversed course, disappeared behind a line of trees, and then impacted a number of trees along the slope of a steep incline. A post-accident inspection of the aircraft and its engine did not reveal any evidence that there had been any malfunction or anomaly in the flight control system or in the operation of the engine. It was further determined that the aircraft had taken on 8.25 gallons of aviation fuel approximately 70 minutes prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 21, 2004, approximately 1250 Pacific daylight time, a Piper J-3, N27135, impacted a number of trees during low-level maneuvering about three miles south of Glenoma, Washington. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, received serious injuries, and the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Chehalis-Centralia Municipal Airport, Chehalis, Washington, about one hour prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed, but the pilot's ultimate destination is believed to have been Thun Field, Puyallup, Washington.
According to witnesses, the aircraft was observed flying very low and slow through the thickly forested hilly terrain just east of the east end of Riffe Lake. The witnesses said that the airplane made a steeply banked turn, reversed course, and then disappeared behind some trees. When the aircraft did not reappear, some of the witnesses went searching for the aircraft, and found that it had impacted a number of trees along the slope of a steep incline.
A post-accident inspection of the aircraft and its engine did not reveal any evidence that there had been any malfunction or anomaly in the flight control system or in the operation of the engine. It was further determined that the aircraft had taken on 8.25 gallons of aviation fuel approximately 70 minutes prior to the accident. As of this date, the pilot, who was severely injured in the crash, has no recollection of the accident sequence, and is still unable to complete an NTSB Form 6120.1/2.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N27135
- Reported as
- Piper J-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4377
- Engine
- Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William E. Walrath
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CLS · Chehalis, WA
- Destination
- 1S0 · Puyallup, WA
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
- 56
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 250 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.