# NTSB WPR20FAMS2: Luscombe 8, N77875, Pacific Ocean, OR, February 12, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Missing aircraft · Final report - Date: February 12, 2020 - Place: Pacific Ocean, OR - Coordinates: 43.760833, -125.51166 (estimated) - Phase of flight: [Unknown](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/990) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Unknown: Missing aircraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/990) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 100993 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR20FAMS2 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/100993/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100993 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20FAMS2 ## Probable cause Undetermined because the airplane and pilot were not located. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Luscombe 8A, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=8190104), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Unknown: Missing aircraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/990) (defining event); cases with it: [Luscombe 8A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/990/sequence.md?model=8190104), [All aircraft, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/990/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was reported missing after he had not returned from a presumed cross-county flight. A multi-agency search for the missing pilot and airplane was conducted; however, neither the pilot, airplane, nor wreckage debris was located. Radar data believed to represent the missing airplane showed a westerly track over the Pacific Ocean. The last know radar position was about 57 miles west of the shoreline. ## Factual narrative On February 12, 2020, about 1659 Pacific standard time, a Luscombe 8A airplane, N77875, was presumed destroyed when it went missing over the Pacific Ocean. The pilot has not been located. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The airplane departed Columbia Gorge Regional Airport (KDLS), The Dalles Port, Washington, about 1600 en route to an unknown destination. No flight plan was filed. On February 14, 2020, approximately 1205, a family member reported the pilot and airplane missing. Later that day, a Federal Aviation Administration Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued and a search for the missing pilot and airplane commenced. The search was conducted by the Civil Air Patrol, US Coast Guard, Klickitat County Sheriff's Office and Lane County Sheriff's Office. Representatives from the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office reported that the airplane’s last known position was over the Pacific Ocean about 57 miles west of the coastline. In a subsequent report, they stated a radar track, believed to be that of the missing airplane, showed the airplane on a westbound heading before the track ended. The last radar return was at 1659, about 57 miles west of the Oregon shoreline at 43:45:39N, 125:30:42W. A search of the area surrounding the last known position was conducted by the US Coast Guard, but neither the pilot nor debris was located. On February 15, 2020, land and sea-based searches were suspended. The missing airplane, a 1946 Luscombe 8A, was not equipped with an electrical system or transponder. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N77875](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N77875-2022-06-08), registration cancelled 2022-06-08, S/N 3602, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Luscombe 8 (A) - Registry model: [Luscombe 8A](https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8a) (registry code 8190104) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 3602 - Year built: 1946 - Engines: Continental A65 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: Unknown - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Mark L Morantes - Registered owner: Mark L Morantes - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: DLS, The Dalles, OR - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 70; injuries: unknown; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: basicmed; flight hours: 2,000 total, 50 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Day - Icing: Unknown - Turbulence: Unknown ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 19, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=100993. 2.9 MB in all. - Klickitat sheriffs report (item 1, PDF, 6 pages, 2.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11837662&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Klickitat%20County%20Sheriffs%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.