Piper PA-18 N23TT

Summary

On 2 July 2011 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper PA-18 registered N23TT, operated by Juliett Limited, was involved in an accident near Enumclaw, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 July 2011 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Enumclaw, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Ranger Station (21W)

Coordinates

47.0131, -121.5350

Aircraft

Piper PA-18

Registration

N23TT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Juliett Limited

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Enumclaw → Enumclaw

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11CA308

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during an encounter with a mountain wave and downdraft landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was making an approach to an airstrip for a brief stop. He overflew the field and determined the wind was variable from the north and started his approach. On final approach he noticed an above average loss of altitude and speed due to a large mountain wave coming over the foothills to the west. He added power to compensate for the downdraft and continued on his landing approach. Once clear of some trees at the approach end of the runway he reduced the power to idle and was again pushed down by another downdraft. The pilot then added full power to arrest the airplane's descent but he did not have enough speed at that time to avoid a hard landing. The airplane slid off the runway and into a guard railing. The fuselage tubular frame sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no mechanical problems that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.