WPR12FA136

The flight instructor's decision to continue flight into the area of reduced visibility and the pilots’ subsequent failure to maintain clearance from the hilly terrain while operating in an area of low ceilings, rain, and fog.

The dual instructional flight was operated in an area where light rain, fog, and overcast ceilings were present. As the flight proceeded, it entered a hilly area with steady rain, low ceilings, and dense ground fog that extended to above tree height. While maneuvering in that area, the pilots did not maintain sufficient altitude, and the airplane impacted a tree that was likely hard to see because of the reduced visibility. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 14, 2012, about 1725 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N18677, collided with a tree about 2 ½ miles northwest of Goble, Oregon. The flight instructor and his student received fatal injuries, and the airplane, which was owned and operated by Aero Maintenance Flight Center, of Vancouver, Washington, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 dual instructional flight, which departed Pearson Airport, Vancouver, Washington, about 1620, was being operated in an area where instrument meteorological conditions had been reported. No flight plan had been filed. According to local law enforcement officials, although one individual who lived about 4 miles from the accident site heard abnormal sounds coming from an airplane’s engine during the time period the accident airplane was likely in the area, there were no known witnesses to the crash itself. Therefore a search was not initiated until the operator reported the flight was overdue. Once the search was initiated, an emergency locator transmitter signal was detected, and a follow-up "pinging" of the cell phone of one of the occupants led to the discovery of the wreckage. According to the Aero Maintenance Flight Center’s Rental Dispatch Checkout Form, the expected departure time of the flight was 1500, with an expected return time of about 1700. But, the flight did not depart Pearson Airport until about 1620, and the reason for the delay is unknown. The occupants did not indicate on the dispatch form what their destination was, or what their route would be. They also did not indicate whether they had checked the weather. After the airplane departed Pearson Airport, it was tracked flying to the north by the radar at the temporary Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) at Pearson Airport. According to the ATCT quality assurance staff, there were not a lot of low level aircraft flying in that area at that time, so it was easy for them to track the 1200 code of this airplane on the recorded radar data. That data showed the airplane subsequently arrived at Scappoose Airport near Scappoose, Oregon, about 1634. Then about 1649, the radar picked up a 1200 transponder code airplane departing Scappoose Airport and heading to the north, but it could not be confirmed that this was the same airplane. That airplane ultimately landed at Woodland Airport in Woodland, Washington, at 1706, and departed there almost immediately thereafter, flying in a northwesterly direction toward Goble. Ultimately that airplane was lost from radar, but at 0724:30, a 1200 code squawk was picked up about 4 miles south of the Kelso-Longview Airport, which was about 2 miles north of the accident site. The aircraft associated with that squawk was heading to the south, toward the general area of the accident site. It was flying about 1,800 feet mean sea level (msl) and about 60 knots. The track continued toward the location of the accident site for about 75 seconds, during which time the altitude readout increased to 2,000 feet, and then decreased back down to 1,500 feet. The last radar hit from that track, which was at 1725:44, was about ¾ of a mile north of the accident site, and on a track aligned almost directly with the location where the accident airplane hit the tree. After 1725:44, there were no further 1200 squawk codes in the area where the track had been seen. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The flight instructor, who was sitting in the right seat, was a 47 year-old male, who possessed a commercial pilot certificate, with airplane single engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument ratings. He was rated for flight instruction in single engine land airplanes. According to the operator, he had accumulated about 650 hours total time in airplanes, with about 80 hours being in the make and model involved in the accident. He had accumulated about 46 hours in airplanes in the last 90 days. His last airman’s medical, a class 2, without waivers or limitations, was dated April 8, 2011. The date of his last flight review was not determined. The individual sitting in the left seat was a 17 year-old male, who possessed a student pilot certificate. According to records provided by the operator, he had accumulated 18 hours in single engine land airplanes, all of which were in the make and model involved in the accident. Of those 18 hours, 9 were accumulated in the 90 days prior to the accident, and 5 had been accumulated in the 30 days prior to the accident. His most recent airman’s medical, a class 3, without waivers or limitations, was dated September 22, 2011. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a 1972 Cessna 150L, with a Continental Motors O-200-A, 100 horsepower motor, and a McCauley 1A100/HCM6948 fixed pitch propeller. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated 13,527.2 hours since new. The engine, which underwent a major overhaul on February 29, 2012, about 16 days prior to the accident, had accumulated 2.2 hours since the signoff of the overhaul. According to the operator, this was the first revenue producing flight since the overhaul. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The Portland International Airport (KPDX) recorded aviation weather surface observation (METAR) for 1553, which was about 28 minutes prior to the takeoff from Pearson Airport, indicated a wind from 100 degrees at 7 knots, 10 miles visibility, a broken ceiling at 2,800 feet, an overcast at 3,700 feet, a temperature of 6 degrees C, a dew point of 4 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.82 inches of mercury. The KPDX METAR for 1653, which was about 33 minutes after the takeoff from Pearson Airport, indicated a wind from 110 degrees at 10 knots, 10 miles visibility, light rain, a broken ceiling at 2,900 feet, an overcast at 3,700 feet, a temperature of 6 degrees C, a dew point of 4 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.84 inches of mercury. The 1553 METAR for Scappoose, Oregon, which is located about 15 miles northwest of Pearson Airport, and 16 miles south of the accident site, indicated a wind of 150 degrees at 4 knots, a visibility of 6 miles, light rain, fog, a broken ceiling at 2,000 feet, an overcast at 2,500 feet, a temperature of 8 degrees C, a dew point of 7 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.81 inches of mercury. The 1653 METAR for Scappoose, Oregon, which was taken about 32 minutes prior to the crash, indicated a wind from 100 degrees at 5 knots, 5 miles visibility, light rain, fog, an overcast ceiling at 2,200 feet, a temperature of 8 degrees C, a dew point of 7 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.81 inches of mercury. The 1655 METAR for Kelso, Washington, which is located about 8 miles north of the accident site, indicated a wind from 140 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 14 knots, 10 miles visibility, scattered clouds at 4,100 feet, scattered clouds at 4,700 feet, an overcast ceiling at 6,000 feet, a temperature of 8 degrees C, a dew point of 6 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of mercury. The 1715 METAR for Kelso, Washington, which was taken about 12 minutes prior to the accident, indicated a wind from 150 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles, an overcast ceiling at 6,000 feet, a temperature of 8 degrees C, a dew point of 6 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of mercury. In an interview with the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge (IIC), the individuals who owned the property on which the accident took place stated that very often in the winter months, when the wind was blowing from the east or southeast, the fog that built up over the Columbia River would be blown up over the hills east of the river around the Goble area. They said that on the day of the accident, and for about two days prior, such an event had occurred, and therefore in addition to the steady light rain that had been falling that afternoon; a thick fog had rolled in that limited the visibility to about ¼ mile. In addition t