- Date
- December 6, 2004, 15:50 local (23:50 UTC)
- Place
- Spanaway, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3571VCessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA, FSDO
- FAA report
- 20041206032099A
- Case key
- 60685
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 misjudgment of distance/altitude during final approach to land which resulted in an undershoot and in flight collision with a fence. A factor was the pilot's alcohol impairment.
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
During final approach to land, the airplane hit a barbed wire fence located about 30 feet from the threshold. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted on the runway. The rudder, vertical stabilizer, and the left wing strut were damaged. A deputy, who responded to the scene of the accident, noted an odor of alcohol coming from the pilot. With the pilot's permission, another deputy took a blood sample, which was submitted for alcohol testing. The test result was a blood alcohol content of 0.08 g/100mL. A review of the pilot's FAA medical file revealed that his application for a medical certificate dated April 18, 2003, was denied. The application was denied due, in part, to alcohol dependence.
Factual narrative
On December 6, 2004, approximately 1550 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 140 airplane, N3571V, struck a fence during landing at Spanaway Airport, Spanaway, Washington. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane, which was registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from Pierce County Airport, Puyallup, Washington, about 1530 with an intended destination of Spanaway.
According to FAA inspectors who responded to the scene of the accident, during final approach to land on runway 16, the airplane hit a barbed wire fence located about 30 feet from the threshold. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted on the runway. The rudder, vertical stabilizer, and the left wing strut were damaged.
A deputy with the Pierce Country Sheriff Department, who responded to the scene of the accident, noted an odor of alcohol coming from the pilot. With the pilot's permission, another deputy took a blood sample, which was submitted for alcohol testing. The test result was a blood alcohol content of 0.08 g/100mL.
A review of the pilot's FAA medical file revealed that his application for a medical certificate dated April 18, 2003, was denied. The application was denied due, in part, to alcohol dependence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3571V
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 14846
- Engine
- Teledyne Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kenneth H. Overbey
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 26, 2004 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- 1S0 · Puyallup, WA
- Destination
- S44 · Spanaway, WA
- Airport
- S44 · Spanaway, runway 16, 2,724 × 20 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
- 71
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 4,500 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.45 inHg
- Observed at
- KTCM, 3 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3571V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.