- Date
- July 13, 1998, 18:15 local (Jul 14, 1998, 01:15 UTC)
- Place
- Miltonfreewater, OR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N24823Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980713025619A
- Case key
- 43224
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 pilots failure to maintain proper terrain clearance. Factors contributing to the accident are high density altitude and rising terrain.
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 reported that while flying in mountainous rising terrain, 'I decided that the terrain around us are [sic] rising rather quickly so I started to climb. As I was climbing [the] airplane wasn't performing too well due to high density altitude. Since I was surrounded by valley a turn was not my option.' He further reported that, 'I decided to fly straight without losing anymore airspeed, [and] I impacted [a] series of trees at [the] very top of the hill,' followed by ground impact. The calculated density altitude at the accident site (4,200 feet above sea level) was 6,861 feet.
Factual narrative
On July 13, 1998, approximately 1815 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N24823, registered to Walla Walla College, and being operated/flown by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during a controlled in-flight collision with terrain approximately 17 nautical miles east northeast of Milton-Freewater, Oregon. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. No flight plan had been filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight, which was personal, was to have been operated under 14CFR91, and originated from the Walla Walla Regional airport, Walla Walla, Washington, approximately 1735.
The pilot reported that while flying in the Tiger Canyon area southeast of Walla Walla, "I decided that the terrain around us are [sic] rising rather quickly so I started to climb. As I was climbing [the] airplane wasn't performing too well due to high density altitude. Since I was surrounded by valley a turn was not my option. I decided to fly straight without losing anymore airspeed, [and] I impacted [a] series of trees at [the] very top of the hill." The aircraft then impacted terrain.
Meteorological conditions at the Walla Walla Regional airport, 20 nautical miles northwest of the accident site, at 1805 hours were as follows:
Surface temperature: 84 degrees Fahrenheit Wind direction: 200 degrees magnetic Wind speed: 06 knots Altimeter: 29.89 inches of mercury Walla Walla elevation: 1,205 feet (MSL)
The calculated density altitude at the Walla Walla Regional airport, under the above conditions was 3,186 feet. The estimated density altitude at the accident site (4,200 feet MSL), based on the above conditions, was 6,861 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N24823
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15280399
- Airframe hours
- 4,628
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lee, Hong
- Registered owner
- Walla Walla College
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 30, 1998 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- ALW · Walla Walla, 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
- 23
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 225 total · 192 in this make and model · 70 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALW, 20 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.