Piper PA-34-200T accident near Cle Elum, Washington, October 8, 1996
On October 8, 1996 at about 10:26 am local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N666HL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cle Elum, Washington. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's physical impairment of judgment and performance, his decision to fly while impaired, and his subsequent failure to maintain control of the aircraft which led to the aircraft's design stress limits being exceeded and inflight separation of the horizontal stabiliator and right wing. Contributing to the accident were: pilot fatigue and self-induced pressure to fly.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 8, 1996 · about 10:26 am local time
- Place
- Cle Elum, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N666HL · no longer on the register · serial 34-7770235
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot went to a doctor 6 hours before reporting to fly, and was diagnosed with gastritis, reflux symptoms, and fatigue. Just before taking off on the accident flight, the pilot complained to a fellow company pilot that he felt ill, expressing fear of repercussions from his company if he grounded himself. A few minutes before disappearing from contact with air traffic control, he radioed the fellow pilot (who was in another company aircraft on the same route): 'I don't feel so good...I feel like I'm going to toss my cookies.' The aircraft wreckage was located about 11 hours after the disappearance, with the pilot fatally injured inside. Wreckage distribution at the accident site was indicative of inflight separation of the right wing and horizontal stabilator. Subsequent examination indicated that the wing and stabilator separations were a result of overstress. No evidence of mechanical problems was noted, other than the separated wing and stabilator. In constructing a history of the pilot's activities before the accident, investigators found that his activities for the two days before the accident (during a rest period) were on a schedule inconsistent with his night air cargo duties.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,539 hours in all; 148 in this make and model; 133 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,301 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, September 18, 1996; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-EB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GEG Spokane WA at 9:15 am
- Destination: BFI Seattle WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 am from YKM, 38 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.