- Date
- March 30, 1985, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Trinidad, WA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N772GWPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850330014539A
- Case key
- 40134
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 pilot was operating the aircraft by flying at low altitude down the columbia river so as to avoid turbulence. During the flight a downdraft was encountered in which insufficient altitude was available to prevent the water and an unintentional ditching resulted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N772GW
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 282554
- Airframe hours
- 864
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wayne T, Stockdale
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · November 10, 1982
- Departed
- 8S2 · Cashmere, WA
- Destination
- WA68 · Vantage, 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 528 total · 300 in this make and model · 419 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 20 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.