14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, February 15, 2012 in North Bend, WA
Aircraft: CESSNA 172S, registration: N665SP
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On February 15, 2012, about 0154 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172S, N665SP, cruised into the western face of Mount Si, about 1.75 miles east of North Bend, Washington. The airplane fragmented upon impacting trees and upsloping mountainous terrain, which resulted in substantial structural damage. The airplane’s registered owner, Christiansen Aviation, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, leased the airplane to a fixed base flight school operator in Renton, Washington, called AcuWings. The commercial pilot held a certified flight instructor certificate. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight was performed under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the dark nighttime, personal sightseeing flight. No flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), about 0135.
A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded radar was performed for an aircraft having performance characteristics of a Cessna 172, that flew on a route from RNT to the accident site vicinity, and that disappeared about the time of the accident near the crash site. Only one target was found that met these criteria. The FAA’s recorded radar shows an aircraft on initial climb out from RNT. The aircraft climbed to 2,400 feet mean sea level (msl), as indicated by its altitude encoding transponder. Initially, the aircraft proceeded in a northeasterly direction. However, as the aircraft approached Snoqualmie Falls, it descended to 1,500 feet and proceeded on an east-southeasterly course. The last radar hit occurred at 0146, at which time the aircraft was about 1 mile southwest of the Falls, and about 1 mile north of Interstate Highway 90 (I-90). During the last minute of recorded flight, the aircraft’s ground speed decreased from about 112 to 106 knots.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator received information from a witness who stated that about 0150 he was driving in an easterly direction on I-90. The witness holds a private pilot certificate. He reported having observed the anticollision and navigation lights from a low flying airplane that was cruising in a southeasterly direction an estimated 1 mile north of I-90. The witness stated that when I-90 turned southeasterly, he lost sight of the airplane for a couple of minutes. However, he regained visual contact with the airplane as he and the airplane approached North Bend. At that time, the airplane had altered its course and was heading in a northeasterly direction. The witness estimated that the airplane’s altitude was about 1,000 feet above ground level. (North Bend’s elevation is 400 to 500 feet msl.) The witness stated that the visibility was at least 3 miles. There was an overcast ceiling several thousand feet above the ground, with a few lower elevation clouds. Based upon the flight path drawing provided by the witness, the Safety Board investigator notes that when the witness lost visual contact with the airplane, it was flying toward the Mount Si area and was within 3 miles of the crash site.
Beginning about 0154, several persons located in North Bend telephoned 911 and reported having heard an impact sound. At least one witness reported having observed the lights of a low flying airplane and the sound of its engine suddenly stop following its 0153 low altitude easterly direction flight over the city toward Mount Si.
The Safety Board investigator’s on scene examination of the accident site and airplane wreckage revealed evidence of multiple broken tree trunks and felled branches on the mountainside in Mount Si’s Natural Resource Conservation Area. Fragmented airframe components, including both crushed wings, were noted below dozens of felled branches on an approximate 120-degree magnetic track leading to the fuselage, which was upside down. No evidence of preimpact oil leaks, fuel filter blockage, flight control anomalies, or fire was noted at the estimated 1,950-foot msl crash site.
The owner of a Renton flying school said he was unaware that one of his instructors had taken a single-engine Cessna out on a late-night flight until he learned from investigators that the aircraft had crashed near North Bend, killing three people, including two popular swim coaches.
The owner of a Renton flying school said he was unaware that one of his instructors had taken a single-engine Cessna out on a late-night flight until he learned from investigators that the aircraft had crashed near North Bend, killing all three aboard.
Among those killed in the crash early Wednesday was pilot Rob Marshall Hill, 30, a popular swim coach in South King County and a flight instructor for AcuWings.
His friends, Liz Redling, 29, and Seth Dawson, 31, a fellow swim coach, also died in the crash on Little Si, near North Bend.
Baha Acuner, the executive vice president of AcuWings said he was shocked to learn about the crash. While Hill was a flight instructor, he said, the flight had not been "instructional" and that he'd had no idea that the plane was gone.
"We had no knowledge of when they left, when they took the airplane or what they were doing," said Acuner. "It's devastating."
The plane is believed to have crashed between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to Mike Fergus, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The investigation into the cause of the crash will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and will focus on the weather, the pilot's background and the aircraft's maintenance, Fergus said.
The investigation could take months to complete.
Hill and Dawson coached high-school swim teams as well as at the Valley Aquatics Swim Team in Federal Way, according to swim team co-owner Suzanne Rychlik.
Hill had a special gift for helping young athletes work through their problems, both in and out of the pool, she said.
Knew how to motivate
"He had struggled in school and he was able to motivate the kids to work through their challenges and he was able to make it fun," Rychlik said.
Hill, who had graduated from Federal Way's Decatur High School in 1999, later returned to his alma mater to coach.
Friends and relatives said Hill was well-known and admired in the tight-knit swimming community.
"He was a wonderful coach because he would find the best in everybody," said Hill's sister Becca Goode. "He was the person who looked at people's interior strengths and then had them build on that."
Dawson, an elite swimmer who had once qualified for the Olympic Trials, was skillful in helping athletes of all abilities, she said.
"Sometimes elite athletes struggle to understand what a common athlete goes through," said Rychlik. "But Seth did a really nice job of working with athletes of all levels."
Dawson had won national swim titles while attending California State University, Bakersfield, on a swimming scholarship.
Athletes he coached said he made going to practice exciting rather than a chore.
Amber Cratsenberg, 17, who has won five state titles and plans to attend Virginia Tech, said Dawson encouraged her by telling her he'd be cheering for her at the Olympics.
Lots of encouragement
"He said he was going to watch me go to the Olympics one day and that he'd be so proud of me," she said.
Her friend Sami Hendricks, also 17, said Dawson "did his best to keep us motivated to come to practice and keep a smile on our face."
Dawson was the swimming coach at Kentlake High School.
Redling is listed as a friend of Hill's on his Facebook page, but family members reached at her Federal Way home declined to speak about her.
Fergus, the FAA spokesman, said Wednesday the pilot had not been in contact with air traffic control and that little was known about the plane's itinerary. He declined to comment further Thursday.
NTSB investigator Wayne Pollack said the plane was flying under nighttime visual rules, in which flying without contacting air traffic control is permitted and not unusual.
Goode said members of her family did not know of any particular flight plans her brother had, and that they believe he and the two friends had simply gone for a night flight.
A candlelight vigil for the victims will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Decatur High School.
http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com
http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 665SP Make/Model: C172 Description: 172, P172, R172, Skyhawk, Hawk XP, Cutla
Date: 02/15/2012 Time: 0900
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: NORTH BEND State: WA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 3 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, NEAR LITTLE SI MOUNTAIN, NORTH BEND, WA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 3
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: SEATTLE, WA (NM01) Entry date: 02/16/2012
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