Swanson TIGER MOTH 80 N928VS

Summary

On 17 May 2013 at about 03:30 local time, a Swanson TIGER MOTH 80 registered N928VS was involved in an accident near Lynden, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 May 2013 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lynden, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Lynden Airport (38W)

Coordinates

48.9558, -122.4581

Aircraft

Swanson TIGER MOTH 80

Registration

N928VS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lynden → Lynden

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR13CA235

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees during final approach and his obscured vision due to the sun glare.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that following an uneventful flight, he noted that the wind favored landing to the west, into the sun. During final approach to the runway, the pilot's view of the runway was obscured by the sun glare, however, he "thought I would get through the blind spot" and elected not to abort the landing. Subsequently, the right wing of the airplane struck a tree and the airplane impacted the ground, which resulted in structural damage to both the upper and lower left and right wings, and forward portion of the fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Official sunset was about 17 minutes after the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.