14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 31, 2012 in Friday Harbor, WA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/08/2014
Aircraft: EASTON SEAREY, registration: N346PE
Injuries: 1 Serious.
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.
The pilot was landing to the south at a private airstrip. The owner of the airstrip observed the airplane on short final when it struck transmission wires that ran perpendicular to and north of the airstrip. The airplane nosed over and impacted terrain. Postimpact examination of the airplane revealed wire strike marks on the left main landing gear and the keel of the fuselage. No preimpact mechanical discrepancies were found with the airplane’s airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation. The airstrip owner stated that he was unaware of the pilot’s impending visit. He said that he tells all visiting pilots to land to the north so as to land uphill and avoid the transmission wires. The airstrip owner also reported that he talked to a pilot who spoke to the accident pilot before he departed on the accident flight and who informed him of the presence of wires at the north end of the airstrip.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s inadequate glidepath and failure to maintain clearance from the transmission wire during a landing approach.
On August 31, 2012, about 1630 Pacific daylight time, an Easton SeaRey amateur-built experimental amphibian airplane, N346PE, sustained substantial damage when it impacted wires and terrain during approach to landing at a private airstrip near Friday Harbor, Washington. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated from Eastsound, Washington, approximately 45 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed.
The owner of the airstrip stated that he observed the airplane arrive at his airstrip and circle the airstrip several times before the pilot established a traffic pattern to land to the south. The 1,200-foot-long grass airstrip had an east-west road on the north end, and the road had transmission wires paralleling it on both sides. The witness observed the airplane on short final and moments later it struck a wire on the south side of the road. The aircraft nosed over and impacted terrain inverted.
An initial wreckage examination at the accident site was performed by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. After the airplane was moved to the pilot's hangar, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator examined the wreckage. The keel of the fuselage and the right main landing gear tire exhibited wire abrasion marks. Additionally, the left main landing gear leg had paint missing, which was consistent with a wire strike. No other pre-impact mechanical discrepancies were found with the airplane's airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation.
The airstrip owner reported that the wind, at the time of the accident, was from the south at 5 to 10 knots. He said that he recommends to visiting pilots that they land to the north regardless of the wind direction. The airstrip slopes down to the south, so landing north is going uphill. Also, landing north eliminates the hazard of having to fly over the transmission wires along the road on short final. The airstrip owner reported that he was unaware of the pilot's impending visit and did not have the opportunity to brief him. The airstrip owner also reported that, after the accident, he talked to a pilot at the airport in Eastsound who was present when the airplane departed on the accident flight. This pilot told the airstrip owner that he had spoken with the accident pilot and informed him of the presence of wires at the north end of the airstrip.
Several attempts were made to interview the pilot over a 6-month period, and to obtain a completed National Transportation Safety Board Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report from the pilot. The pilot declined to be interviewed, citing medical issues, and a completed Form 6120.1 was not received.
Richard Bach
Richard Bach, author of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull,' writes book about 2012 plane crash
Richard Bach’s new spiritual memoir, ‘Illusions II’
You can’t keep this seagull down.
Less than two years after he crashed his small plane and almost died, bestselling author Richard Bach is back with an inspirational tale about his miraculous recovery.
“Illusions II” was released Feb. 7 on the Kindle Singles platform ($2.99) as a sequel to his 1977 book, “Illusions.”
In his signature tone of carefully modulated bliss, Bach, now 77, leads us through the mental journey that began Aug. 31, 2012, when he was about to land his single-engine plane at a small airport in Washington State. Forty feet off the ground, his wheels caught on power lines, sending the craft into a fiery crash. Emergency vehicles arrived almost instantly, but Bach remained in a coma for a week with a range of life-threatening injuries.
But that’s not how “Illusions II” begins. Instead, Bach writes, “The landing was perfect, a word I rarely use for my flying. A few minutes before the wheels touched the land, they brushed the tops of the grass, the soft gold whispering.”
Read more here: http://www.washingtonpost.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N346PE
NTSB Identification: WPR12LA385
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 31, 2012 in Friday Harbor, WA
Aircraft: EASTON SEAREY, registration: N346PE
Injuries: 1 Serious.
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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 31, 2012, about 1630 Pacific daylight time, an Easton SeaRey amphibian amateur-built airplane, N346PE, sustained substantial damage during impact with wires and terrain while landing near Friday Harbor, Washington. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated from Eastsound, Washington, approximately 45 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed.
A witness stated the he observed the airplane on short final to a private grass airstrip when it struck power line wires. The aircraft nosed over and impacted terrain.
Richard Bach, author of the 1970s bestseller "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," who was seriously injured when his small plane flipped during a landing, is improving and will soon be moved out of intensive care, a hospital spokeswoman said on Monday, September 10, 2012.
Doctors at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center were upgrading Bach's condition to satisfactory from serious, spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. "He's improving."
Bach, 76, clipped power lines with the landing gear of his 2008 Easton Gilbert Searey on August 31 while trying to land on a grass airstrip on San Juan Island in northwestern Washington state.
A group of young tourists found Bach, suspended upside down and strapped to his harness in the heavily damaged single-engine plane, and cut him loose from the wreckage.
Bach is now able to enjoy chocolate milk and respond to verbal commands such as "cough" and "give a thumbs up." He was expected to be moved out of intensive care late on Monday, son James Bach told Reuters.
"He can say some words, but it's hard for him. so he mostly sticks to 'yes' or 'no', the son said.
"We still can't tell if he understands that he is in the hospital and why he is there. But he asked for chocolate milk today - so at least his love of chocolate milk is intact," said the younger Bach, 46.
"We think it's going to be a long slow recovery. We're taking it one day at a time. We're optimistic."
The author's injuries included a head blow that caused internal bleeding, bruised ribs, a bruised shoulder that doctors initially thought was broken and a right eye that remains shut, his son said.
"Jonathan Livingston Seagull," the story of a seagull expelled from his clan after he pushes himself to become an extraordinary flyer, was published in 1970. It topped the New York Times best-sellers list two years later and was made into a movie in 1973.
In this Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 photo provided by the San Juan Islander,
authorities examine a plane, piloted by author Richard Bach, that
crashed in a field in Friday Harbor, Wash. Bach, the author of the 1970s
best-selling novella "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" among other
spiritually oriented writings often rooted in themes of flight, was in
serious condition Saturday at Harborview Medical Center.
(Courtesy of sanjuanislander.com / September 1, 2012)
(Courtesy of sanjuanislander.com / September 1, 2012)
Bach's plane was badly damaged in the crash
(Courtesy of sanjuanislander.com / September 1, 2012)
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 346PE Make/Model: EXP Description: EXP- SEAREY
Date: 08/31/2012 Time: 2330
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Minor Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: FRIDAY HARBOR State: WA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON APPROACH, STRUCK POWERLINES AND CRASHED, 3 MILES FROM FRIDAY
HARBOR, WA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 1 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Approach Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: SEATTLE, WA (NM01) Entry date: 09/04/2012
Richard Bach is in critical condition in Harborview Medical Center after a plane crash on San Juan Island Friday, August 31, 2012. The author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, snagged power lines with the landing gear of his 2008 Easton Gilbert Searey plane as he attempted to land at a grassy air strip off of San Juan Valley Road.
Two power poles snapped in half, dropping live electric lines on the roadway. The plane landed upside down in the grass with the seriously injured 76-year-old Eastsound resident stuck hanging upside down in his harness in the heavily damaged plane.
The downed power lines sparked a fire a quarter of a mile away.
A group of young Seattle residents on San Juan Island for a mini-camping vacation, cut Bach free from the harness. The group had just turned around on the narrow county road because they were lost.
"There were live electric cables on the road," said Lucy Williams. "He was dangling. Just hanging forward from his shoulders. He was bleeding. He had this dent in his head. He was about 65. The guys (in her group) didn't have a knife. We used the tiny knife on my keychain to cut him loose. We got a jacket from some random person and put it on his head (to stop the bleeding)."
San Juan County Emergency Medical Services, Sheriff Deputies, and San Juan Island Fire Department firefighters arrived on scene. The seriously injured pilot was treated on scene by SJEMS and airlifted to HarborView Medical Center where he is in critical condition Friday night.
San Juan County Sheriff Rob Nou said the preliminary investigation indicates the pilot was attempting to land on a grass airstrip and caught overhead power lines with the landing gear as he neared the runway. The power lines broke at least two nearby poles, dropping live wires which sparked the fire about a quarter of a mile away.
Power was disrupted in the area, and will remain out for several hours as utility crews reset poles and repair the downed lines. San Juan Valley Road remained closed as of 6:30 p.m. Friday evening.
The crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA. on scene and prepared to be medevacued to the mainland.
On his official website richardbach.com, Bach wrote on August 27, 2012 "...Puff and I’ve been flying just about every day."
Read more here: http://www.katu.com
