# NTSB WPR20LA279: Cessna 150, N11513, Quillayute, WA, August 19, 2020

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: August 18, 2020, 23:30 local (Aug 19, 2020, 06:30 UTC)
- Place: Quillayute, WA
- Coordinates: 47.898612, -124.608886 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.8986&lon=-124.6089&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Unknown](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/990) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Unknown: Security/criminal event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 serious
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Lead agency: Other
- Parties: FAA
- NTSB case key (mKey): 101830
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR20LA279
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101830/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101830
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20LA279

## Probable cause

The airplane’s descent into trees and subsequent impact with terrain for undetermined reasons.

## 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: [Cessna 150L, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=2071826), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md)
- [Intentional act: stolen/unauthorized](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051020): Personnel issues › Miscellaneous · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150L, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051020/cases.md?model=2071826), [All aircraft, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051020/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Unknown: Security/criminal event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 150L, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350/sequence.md?model=2071826), [All aircraft, 27 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350/sequence.md)

## Analysis

Law enforcement personnel reported that several witnesses observed an airplane flying low and circling around a housing complex and nearby woods for a short time before it crashed into the woods. The airplane was located the next day in wooded terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The student pilot was seriously injured and unable to make a statement as to the circumstances of the accident before he succumbed to his injuries. The owner/operator of the airplane reported that surveillance video revealed that the student pilot entered his building on the evening of the accident and took the logbooks and keys to the airplane. The owner reported to the county Sheriff’s Office that the airplane was stolen as the pilot did not have permission to be in the building or to operate the airplane.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N11513](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N11513), registered now, S/N 15075475, built 1973 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 150 (L)
- Registry model: [Cessna 150L](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150l) (registry code 2071826) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 15075475
- Year built: 1973
- Engines: Continental O-200 SERIES 100 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Departed: 0S9, Port Townsend, WA
- Destination: Quillayute, WA
- Equipment: Unknown

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Student pilot; age 59; injuries: fatal; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observed at: KUIL, 3 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 20200818013489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200818013489A), Aug 18, 2020: Cessna 150L, La Push, WA, Substantial damage, 1 fatal. Student pilot stole aircraft from OS9. Flew none direct route to La Push, Washington. Aircraft crashed in forested area approximately 1.23 nautical miles south…

## Docket (2 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 9, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101830. 997 KB in all.

- Summary of findings (item 1, PDF, 2 pages, 178 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12764904&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Summary%20of%20Findings-Rel.pdf
- Accident photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 820 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12760185&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Photos-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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