- Date
- June 18, 1992, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Woodland, WA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N107WBWilliam Bovard Glasair
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19920618021149A
- Case key
- 42836
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
Inadequate airspeed. Factors to the accident were: a tailwind takeoff and poor preflight planning/preparation.
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 downwind takeoff, witnesses reported that the airplane lifted off the runway and drifted to the left. The airplane attained an altitude of approximately 30 feet, when it collided with 60 foot trees, located 1,350 feet from the departure end of the runway and 160 feet to the left of centerline. The airplane fell to the ground, at the base of the trees and was consumed by fire. This airplane was equipped with two foot wing extensions and had the original small rudder. Information published by the vendor, stoddard hamilton, has reported that if minimum airspeed is not maintained, the small rudder may not maintain adequate yaw control. The vendor recommends that the, now standard, large rudder be installed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N107WB
- Reported as
- William Bovard Glasair
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 572
- Airframe hours
- 500
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bovard, William J.
- Registered owner
- Bovard, William J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · June 17, 1992 · 2 hours before
- Destination
- Vancouver, WA
- Airport
- WA71 · Woodland, runway 13, 1,965 × 25 ft, asphalt
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
- 60
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,686 total · 1,524 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.