- Date
- April 16, 1988, 05:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Port Angeles, WA
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N36815Piper PA-32RT-300T
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880416034979A
- Case key
- 40721
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
Drg arr, the flt was handed off to whidbey island apch ctl at whidbey island (nuw) naval air stn (nas). Nuw was 35 mi NE of the destn (fairchild intl arpt/clm), at Port Angeles, which had no operg ctl twr. The plt was given the nuw wx, which was 400 scat, estd 2600' ovc, vis 6 mi with fog. The flt was vectored toward clm & was clrd to dscnd to the min vectoring alt of 1000' MSL over the straits of juan de fuca. The plt rprtd the arpt beacon in sight & cancelled his IFR clnc. The acft was observed to fly over the arpt at low alt on a sw heading. The UNICOM operator asked the plt for a ceiling rprt, but the plt replied that he was unable to determine the ceiling due to fog. Subsequently, the acft crashedon rising terrain about 2 mi ssw of the arpt, while in a level turn at an elev of 1300'. The 0505 PDT wx at clm was estd 500' brkn, 4000' ovc, vis 6 mi with fog. The ctlr rprtd that on initial contact with the flt, the 0505 wx for clm was not yet available on his wx vision screen. The arpt elev at clm was 290'.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N36815
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32RT-300T (PA-32RT-30)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R 7887086
- Airframe hours
- 915
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Stanley Bell
- Registered owner
- James S. Bell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 12, 1987 · 80 hours before
- Departed
- OLM · Olympia, WA
- Destination
- CLM
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CLM · Fairchild, runway 8
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 834 total · 203 in this make and model · 737 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 270° at 7 knots
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CLM, 2 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 N36815 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.