SEA05CA027

NTSB accident investigation · Breit Zodiac (CH-601-HDS) · Everett, WA · December 18, 2004

Accident · Minor injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
December 18, 2004, 12:45 local (20:45 UTC)
Place
Everett, WA
Injuries
1 minor
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Initial climb
Aircraft
N826JBBreit Zodiac (CH-601-HDS)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 28, 2006
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
Seattle, WA
FAA report
20041218033339A
Case key
60742

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control immediately after takeoff. A factor was the wake turbulence from the preceding airplane.

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.

Loss of control - in flightTakeoff - initial climb
Wake turbulence - encounteredPilot in commandFactor
Aircraft control - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled
Terrain condition - runway

Analysis

The pilot said he was performing a touch-and-go landing on runway 34L. He said that the tower controller had alerted him to the departure of a Boeing 777, and that he had at least 3 minutes separation. The pilot said that the landing was uneventful, but almost immediately after lifting off, his airplane rolled to the right and its right wing contacted the runway. The right wing was bent and wrinkled; the nose wheel landing gear and the left main landing gear were broken; the engine mounts, firewall, lower longerons and forward fuselage were crushed and/or bent. The wind was 280 degrees at 4 knots.

Factual narrative

On December 18, 2004, at approximately 1245 Pacific standard time, a Breit, Zodiac CH-601-HDS, amateur-built, experimental, N826JB, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain following loss of control in the air during departure from Paine Field, Everett, Washington. The private pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, received minor injuries. The flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local, personal flight, that originated at approximately 1230 from Paine Field. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.

The pilot said he was performing a touch-and-go landing on runway 34L. He said that the tower controller had alerted him to the departure of a Boeing 777, and that he had at least 3 minutes separation. The pilot said that the landing was uneventful, but almost immediately after lifting off, his airplane rolled to the right and its right wing contacted the runway. The airplane came to rest on taxiway A-5. The right wing was bent and wrinkled; the nose wheel landing gear and the left main landing gear were broken; the engine mounts, firewall, lower longerons and forward fuselage were crushed and/or bent.

The wind at Paine Field, at 1253, was 280 degrees for 4 knots.

Aircraft

Registration
N826JB
Reported as
Breit Zodiac (CH-601-HDS)
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
64000
Airframe hours
13
Engine
Subaru EA-81, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Joseph S. Breit
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection
Condition · May 14, 2004 · 13 hours before
Departed
PAE · Everett, WA
Destination
PAE · Everett, WA
Airport
PAE · Paine Field, runway 34L, 9,010 × 150 ft, asphalt

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
51
Injuries
Minor
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Last flight review
May 21, 2004
Seat
Left
Flight hours
283 total · 8 in this make and model · 172 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
290° at 5 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
52 °F, dew point 46 °F
Altimeter
30.44 inHg
Observed at
PAE

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.