NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On March 17, 2007, sometime between 1200 and 1500 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-151, N75194, presumably collided with the ocean off shore of Lincoln City, Oregon. Aero Dynamics Flying Club, Inc., operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and rented it to the private pilot. The pilot and single passenger were fatally injured; the airplane is presumed to have been destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated at Siletz Bay Airport, Gleneden Beach, Oregon.

The Lincoln City police department reported that pieces of a light plane were being recovered along the local coastline around 1500. Witnesses reported to the police that a single engine airplane had been flying very low, and making steep turns over the coastline about 1400. No witnesses reported seeing the airplane impact the water. The bodies of the pilot and passenger washed ashore on March 21 and 23, 2007, respectively.

Witnesses reported to the Lincoln City Police that an airplane matching the description of the recovered debris had attended a breakfast fly-in at Siletz Bay Airport that morning. The airplane arrived about 1000. The accident airplane was one of only four airplanes that arrived that morning. The airplane, pilot, and single passenger departed the airport about 1130.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that there is no record of a flight plan or weather brief for the accident airplane, nor was there any radio communications with any air traffic control (ATC) facilities. A review of the available radar data from the US Air Force 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron failed to identify any targets that could be associated with the accident aircraft.

The pilot rented the airplane from Aero Dynamics Flying Club, Inc., based in Mulino, Oregon.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

A review of FAA records revealed the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single engine land rating that was issued on May 9, 1979. The pilot held a third-class medical certificate that was issued November 2, 2005, with the restriction that he must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision. No personal flight records were located for the pilot. The pilot reported on his third-class medical application that he had 220 flight hours as of November 2, 2005. The pilot applied for membership in the Aero Dynamics Flying Club on October 2, 2005. Aero Dynamics Flying Club, Inc., records show that he completed a biannual flight review on June 29, 2006.

A review of FAA records for the passenger revealed that he held a private pilot certificate with a single engine land rating issued on December 12, 1997. The passenger held a third-class medical certificate that was issued on October 22, 2003, with the restriction the he must wear corrective lenses. The son of the passenger examined his father's pilot logbook and reported that the last flight entered was on January 12, 2004, flown in his father's own Cessna 172. The total flight time entered in the logbook was 200.3 hours. The son said that his father was not actively flying and was not current in an airplane.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a four-seat, low wing, single engine airplane. A review of the airplane maintenance logbooks revealed that the last 100-hour/annual inspection was performed on November 10, 2006, at a total time of 4,753.11 hours. The Lycoming O-360-A4M engine logbook documented an annual inspection completed on November 10, 2006, at tachometer time of 4,753.11 hours. On February 15, 2007, an overhauled Sensenich propeller was installed on the airplane at airframe total time of 4,765.18 hours. Fuel and financial records from the Aero Dynamics Flying Club indicate that the accident airplane was last fueled on March 16, 2007, and had full fuel tanks minus 30 minutes at the time the accident pilot took the airplane.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

A pilot, who helped organize the Siletz Bay Airport breakfast, reported that the weather at the airport was 800 to 1,100 feet overcast, over 10-mile visibility, and no wind. These were the conditions at the airport for the entire day. He said other pilots reported that the cloud layer was 1,500 to 2,500 feet thick. There is no automatic weather recording equipment at the airport.

A National Transportation Safety Board Meteorology Specialist conducted a factual study of the weather conditions in the vicinity of Lincoln City for the afternoon of March 17, 2007. The full factual meteorological report is contained in the docket of this investigation. Records of the sky condition at Newport Municipal Airport (KNOP), Newport, Oregon, located about 23 miles south of Lincoln City, between the times of 1150 and 1250, were 400 feet overcast; at 1350, the sky condition was 600 foot broken, 4,100 feet overcast; and at 1550, the clouds were at 500 feet scattered, 4,100 foot broken, and 6,500 feet overcast. Visibility was between 7 and 10 statute miles. The National Weather Service Weather Radar Summary charts for 1816Z, 1917Z, 2017Z, 2117Z, and 2217Z depict no precipitation echo’s along the Oregon coast, including in the vicinity of Lincoln City. The National Weather Service Weather Depiction Charts for times 1600Z, 1900Z, and 2200Z show shaded areas in the vicinity of Lincoln City, symbolizing conditions with ceilings less than 1,000 feet and/or visibility less than 3 miles. Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite (GEOS) - 11 data imagery, 1 kilometer resolution, for times 2045Z, 2130Z, and 2215Z, depict cloud cover over Lincoln City and Newport. AIRMET notices for IFR conditions were issued at 1445Z, 2045Z, and 2123Z that covered the Lincoln City vicinity.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT

Debris of a white airplane with blue and red striping on the wheel fairings were found washed up along the Lincoln City beach, off SW Anchor Avenue and 33rd Street (44 degrees 56.580 minutes north and 124 degrees 1.410 minutes west). The following items were recovered by the Lincoln City Police: a single piece of dark gray carpet; a white square cover panel with Velcro sewn on the edges; an anaphylactic kit labeled for Mr. Larry Stevens (president of the Aero Dynamics Flying Club); a white Nike running shoe; a right hand black glove; two headphone ear pads; cloth insulation material; plastic storage box lid; black 3-ring binder (empty); and a left-hand landing gear wheel and strut. The wheel and strut had a segment of the wheel fairing painted white with a blue and red stripe.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The body of the pilot was found washed ashore and was recovered in the early morning of March 21, 2007. The passenger's body washed ashore and was recovered the morning of March 23, 2007.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner completed autopsies on both occupants. According to the autopsy reports the cause of death attributed to both victims was blunt force injuries. The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) Forensic Toxicology Research Team in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological testing of specimens collected during the autopsies. The results of the analysis for both occupants were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and tested drugs.

NTSB Probable Cause

In-flight collision with water for undetermined reasons.