Piper PA-28-140 N4306J

Summary

On 20 December 1987 at about 21:55 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N4306J was involved in an accident near Eastsound, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 December 1987 at 21:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Eastsound, Washington, United States

Coordinates

48.6201, -122.8697

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N4306J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Snohomish

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA88FA032

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT DEPD SOUTH FROM AN UNATTENDED ISLAND ARPT AT SEA LEVEL & FLEW INTO MARGINAL VFR CONDS WITH MODERATE SNOWFALL. ACQUAINTANCES AT THE ARPT RPRTD THE PLT EXPRESSED AN URGENT NEED TO RETURN TO SNOHOMISH, WA, DESPITE THE WX CONDS. WHEN THE ACFT DID NOT ARRIVE, A SEARCH WAS INITIATED. A USCG HELICOPTER CREW LOCATED THE WRECKAGE BY HOMING ON A WEAK ELT SIGNAL THE NEXT DAY. THE ACFT HAD HIT TREES ON A KNOLL IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ABOUT 4 MI SSW OF THE DEP ARPT. IMPACTOCCURRED ON A NORTHERLY HEADING AT AN ELEV OF ABOUT 1400' MSL. THE FLAP HANDLE WAS FND IN THE 2ND NOTCH. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS EVIDENT. THE PLT WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED. AN AIRLINE EMPLOYEE, WORKING OUTDOORS SOUTH OF THE ARPT, OBSERVED THE ACFT DRG THE INITIAL CLIMB. HE RPRTD THE ACFT APPEARED TO BE OPERATING NORMALLY & ESTIMATED THE CEILING IN THAT AREA WAS ABOUT 1000' AGL WITH 3 MI VIS & MODERATE SNOWFALL. THE ARPT ELEV WAS 25'. ABOUT 18 MI WEST,THE WX WAS IN PART: 400' PARTIAL OBSCURATION, 1300' BROKEN, VIS 2.5 MI WITH SNOW, WIND 270 DEG AT 4 KTS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.