- Date
- August 14, 1983, 09:55 local (16:55 UTC)
- Place
- Granite Falls, WA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4446UCessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830814040699A
- Case key
- 39625
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
The acft collided with the ground in a vertical nose down attitude. The engine was imbedded 4 ft into the ground. All components of the acft were accounted for in the immediate area of the impact. Witnesses observed the acft in a left turn before falling into a left spin for 3/4 turn and striking the ground in a vertical attitude. A burst of engine power was heard prior to impact. A local pilot who had flown with the operator in the accident acft 2 weeks prior to themishap noted that the airspeed was reading about 15 mph high with incipient stall characteristics noted when airspeed readings as high as 70 mph. The owner stated he would have the instrument recalibrated. No evidence of this work being done was found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4446U
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 150 60446
- Airframe hours
- 4,834
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Delwin M. Wentz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 1983 · 1 hours before
- Airport
- WA25 · Green Valley, runway 18, 1,325 × 50 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
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 481 total · 440 in this make and model · 436 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.