Piper PA-28-140 accident near Everett, Washington, October 15, 2005
On October 15, 2005 at about 4:47 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N5FN, was destroyed in an accident near Everett, Washington. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate airspeed during his aborted landing takeoff/climb which lead to a series of stall/mushes and subsequent impact with trees. Contributing factors were the pilot's loss of aircraft control during his initial landing approach and his immediate departure from the runway after touching down, his aborted landing attempt and subsequent impact with an airport sign, and the trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 2005 · about 4:47 pm local time
- Place
- Everett, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N5FN · registry record · serial 28-7625005
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had two Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Young Eagle participants on board. Event organizers said the airplane was scheduled to land at Paine Field to allow the two Young Eagle participants to exchange seats, and then return to Boeing Field. Video cameras, at Paine Field, show the airplane crossing the threshold of runway 16L, the right wing rising up, and the airplane touching down approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway. A black skid mark was found on the left side of the runway; another skid mark parallel to and 10 feet left of the first mark, started 20 feet later, in the grass. The two parallel marks veered left until both marks were in the grass. The marks in the grass then proceeded parallel to the runway, and a third skid mark was observed between the first two. On taxiway F-2 [which was perpendicular to runway 16L and the skid marks], a 36 inch long silver score mark was found, which was parallel to the three skid marks in the grass [wreckage examination found the airplane's tailskid assembly had been ground down]. Approximately 20 feet off the F-2 taxiway, an airport breakaway sign was broken from its mounts, and a black tire mark was found in the center of it. Next, the pilot transmitted to the ATC controller: "Paine Tower, Cherokee 5FN, something there happened, I don't know not sure what it doesn't feel right. Can you see my wheels?" Tower responded with: "Cherokee 5FN roger, we're looking, [your] wheels appear normal." The pilot said: "I'm at a steep angle at full power [and] hardly climbing." Tower asks: "Are your flaps up?" The pilot: "[The] flaps are up." Witnesses reported seeing the airplane depart on the runway heading, but at a very low altitude. One witness said that the airplane never got higher than 100 to 150 feet, and "he [the pilot] kept pulling the nose up at a very steep angle (about 45 degrees) and then push the nose down. I never saw him push the nose down enough to gain much air speed. I thought he was going to stall it at least once above the runway. I saw him go through this cycle 4 or 5 times before he went out of sight behind the hangar." Another witness said "he was not gaining altitude. The plane was pitching up and down. I watched it fly over some trees, then it started losing altitude and it disappeared behind the trees." Three witnesses working near the crash site reported hearing "a loud snap of breaking tree tops." One of these witnesses said he saw the airplane's right wing hit the trees, and the airplane spun right and went nose first to the ground. A postimpact fire ensued.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 315 hours in all
- Last flight review: January 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,985 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E3D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PAE Everett WA at 4:46 pm
- Destination: BFI Seattle WA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from PAE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.