# NTSB WPR20LA118: Kolb Firestar 2, N90KL, La Center, WA, April 6, 2020

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Limited · Final report
- Date: April 6, 2020, 09:20 local (16:20 UTC)
- Place: La Center, WA
- Coordinates: 45.828609, -122.633888 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.8286&lon=-122.6339&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 101146
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR20LA118
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101146/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101146
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20LA118

## Probable cause

A loss of control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Ludeke Gary L / Krause Jerry L FIRESTAR 2, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=05632JF), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md)
- [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Ludeke Gary L / Krause Jerry L FIRESTAR 2, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=05632JF), [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.

- [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Ludeke Gary L / Krause Jerry L FIRESTAR 2, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05632JF), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)
- [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241); cases with it: [Ludeke Gary L / Krause Jerry L FIRESTAR 2, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=05632JF), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md)

## Analysis

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.

## Factual narrative

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.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N90KL](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N90KL-2022-02-05), registration cancelled 2022-02-05, S/N F1196, built 2013 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Kolb FIRESTAR 2
- Registry model: [Ludeke Gary L / Krause Jerry L FIRESTAR 2](https://openairdocs.org/model/ludeke-gary-l-krause-jerry-l-firestar-2) (registry code 05632JF) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 503 DCDI](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-503-dcdi) (registry code 55566, 2 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: F1196
- Year built: 2013
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed: 1W1, Camas, WA
- Destination: 1W1, Camas, WA
- Airport: WA46, Daybreak

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 58; injuries: fatal; student; airplane ratings: single-engine land; seat: center; restraint: 4-point; toxicology performed

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 80° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature: 46 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observed at: KPDX, 14 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 (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20200406007079A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200406007079A), Apr 6, 2020: Ludeke Gary L / Krause Jerry L FIRESTAR 2, La Center, WA, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Witness statements had the aircraft approximately half a mile west of the Daybreak Airport (WA46) traveling in a northwesterly direction at about 200-300 feet…

## Docket (4 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 28, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101146. 767 KB in all.

- Record of conversations (item 1, PDF, 1 page, 101 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13956339&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Z%20-%20Attachment%2002%20-%20Record%20of%20Conversations-Rel.pdf
- Autopsy summary (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 113 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13957477&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Z%20-%20Attachment%2003%20-%20Autopsy%20Form-Rel.pdf
- Toxicological report (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 116 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13956752&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Tox%20redact-Rel.pdf
- Photos (item 4, PDF, 2 pages, 436 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14097891&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Z%20-%20Attachment%2001%20-%20Photos%20(1)-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.

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