- Date
- August 13, 1996, 10:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Ephrata, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8109YPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960813022569A
- Case key
- 42443
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 of the pilot to maintain proper alignment with the landing area (driveway) during the landing. Factors relating to the accident were: the selection of an unsuitable area for landing, the reported turbulence during landing, and an encounter with a rock beside the landing area, while using heavy braking action.
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 stated that he was landing off-airport to pick up some parts at a parts house. The landing was made on a driveway, which was 500 feet long and 20 feet wide. During the landing, the aircraft 'snagged a rock' and nosed over, causing substantial damage. The pilot stated that turbulence moved the aircraft to the left side of the driveway, where it impacted the rock. Also, he said that heavy braking and impacting the rock caused the aircraft to go over on its back. The pilot noted that the accident could have been avoided 'by not landing here.'
Factual narrative
On August 13, 1996, approximately 1040 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-18, N8109Y, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over after impacting an object during the landing roll in a driveway near Ephrata, Washington. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was uninjured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR 91 in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed for the flight, which had originated at Ephrata , Washington, airport at 1020.
The pilot stated that he was landing off-airport to pick up some parts at a parts house. During the landing roll on the driveway, which had a 500 by 20 foot landing area, the aircraft "snagged a rock" and nosed over, causing substantial damage. The pilot stated that turbulence moved the aircraft to the left side of the driveway, where a rock was impacted. He said that heavy braking and impacting the rock caused the aircraft to go over on its back. The pilot noted in his accident report that the accident could have been avoided "by not landing here."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8109Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8591
- Airframe hours
- 2,410
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C4P, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael Butterfield
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 26, 1996 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- SFF · Spokane, 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
- 48
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total · 500 in this make and model · 200 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
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 N8109Y · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.