- Date
- May 3, 1992, 14:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Wenatchee, WA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N279ASPilatus B-4 PC 11A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 41667
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
Failure by the pilot to maintain airspeed, resulting in aircraft stall.
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.
Loss of control - in flight
Airspeed(vs) - not maintainedCause
Stall - inadvertent
In flight collision with terrain/water
Analysis
The pilot was maneuvering at a low altitude above a ridge when the aircraft nosed up, rolled inverted, descended in a nose down attitude and impacted the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N279AS
- Reported as
- Pilatus B-4 PC 11A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 261
- Airframe hours
- 1,090
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Butler, John
- Registered owner
- Butler, John
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 3, 1991 · 28 hours before
N279ASRegistration cancelled Sep 21, 2012 · Pilatus B4-PC11AFAirframe modelPilatus B4-PC11AFEngine modelNONE
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
- 68
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 52 total · 40 in this make and model · 29 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 4 nm away