WPR20LA118

A witness observed the airplane maneuvering about 200 to 300 ft above the floor of a valley. The airplane was headed southwest then turned south flying above the tree line. The witness reported seeing the airplane make a sharp left turn and that it then stalled and collided with terrain in a near-vertical attitude. Impact damage precluded determination of the preimpact integrity of the airplane’s structure or its control systems. The airplane wreckage was sold before investigators were able to perform an examination.

The kit-built airplane was registered to the pilot in August 2018, but he was not the builder of the airplane. The airplane structure consisted primarily of aluminum tubing covered with fabric skin. The airplane was equipped with a 50-horsepower Rotax 503 series engine mounted in an over-wing pusher configuration. No maintenance records were found during the investigation. On April 6, 2020, about 0920 Pacific daylight time, a Kolb Firestar 2, N90KL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Daybreak Airport (WA46), La Center, Washington. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A witness who lived near the accident site stated that she routinely observed aircraft maneuver around Daybreak Airport. She recalled that on the day of the accident, she was walking and observed an airplane pass over the top of her location at an estimated 200 to 300 ft above the floor of the valley. The airplane was headed southwest and then turned south maneuvering above the tree line. The airplane made a sharp left turn, and she lost sight of it as it descended below the tree line. She subsequently heard a loud boom and ran up the hill to call 911. The 0853 automated weather observation at an airport located about 14 miles south of the accident site included wind from 080° at 3 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 2,000 ft, temperature 08°C, dew point 04°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.90 inches of mercury. A Clark County Sherriff sergeant reported that the wind was about 5 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot's flight logbooks were not located. The pilot kept the airplane at Grove Field Airport in Camas, Washington. A search of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records revealed that the pilot was issued a private pilot’s license in June 2018. The accident site was located about 525 ft northeast of the WA46. The airplane came to rest in a near vertical attitude. Ground scar evidence indicated that the airplane had no horizontal travel during or after ground impact. Throttle and flight control continuity could not be verified. Impact damage precluded determination of the pre-accident integrity of the airplane’s structure or its control systems. The airplane was sold before investigators were able to perform an examination. The sergeant who responded to the accident stated that he smelled fuel at the site.