- Date
- August 11, 1990, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ellensburg, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N232CMAlfred Stevens KEN Rand KR-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900811033229A
- Case key
- 41261
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 did not maintain a proper altitude above the terrain or visual lookout which resulted in a collision with a transmission wire.
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 a cross country flight, the airplane was one of four in a flight flying low level and following a highway. The airplanes were flying abreast one another and the pilot reported that he was watching the others on either side of him as forward visibility was near nonexistant due to the airplanes configuration. The terrain was rolling and rising in front of the flight. The pilot then heard a loud bang and the airplane had a tendency to roll to the left which the pilot was able to compensate for. The flight was then diverted to another airport where a landing was made without further incident. It was later found that the airplane had collided with a power line that ran across the interstate.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N232CM
- Reported as
- Alfred Stevens KEN Rand KR-2 (KEN RAND K)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 5177
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-D4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ratcliffe, Steven
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Departed
- RNT · Renton, WA
- Destination
- EPH · Ephrata, 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
- 39
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 848 total · 34 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.