Amateur-built T BIRD accident near Arlington, Washington, September 22, 2023

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The noncertificated pilot was performing taxi tests in his unregistered experimental amateur-built airplane. A witness reported that the airplane departed the runway and flew erratically as it briefly flew away from the airport and then reappeared over a tree line. The video of the accident sequence showed that, as the airplane flew over the airport, it made several uncoordinated turns, rapid pitch changes and erratically yawed right to left multiple times. In the airplane’s final seconds of flight, it began a steep right bank during which the left wing separated and the airplane fell to the ground. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the forward left wing spar failed in overload due to an improper repair that included splicing the spar and rejoining it with a sleeve. The spar failed in flight, which resulted in a failure of the left wing, a subsequent loss of control and rapid descent. The examination did not reveal any other preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology testing detected the presence of ethanol in one tested liver specimen, and the pilot’s use of methamphetamine, cannabis, and amitriptyline. The ethanol was not detected in two other tested specimens (including another liver tissue specimen), which indicates that it was likely from sources other than alcohol consumption. The measured levels of methamphetamine were high enough to indicate a general likelihood that the pilot was experiencing associated impairing effects at the time of the crash. However, the precise nature and severity of his impairment cannot be determined from available evidence. Whether the pilot’s use of cannabis or amitriptyline would have resulted in impairment could not be determined.

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.

Photographs from the investigation 6 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them

Photo 1 – Quartering view of accident airplane at sitePhoto 2 – Separated left wingPhoto 3 – Spliced wing spar and sleevePhoto 4 – Spliced wing spar and sleevePhoto 5 – Spliced wing strut attachment and sleevePhoto 6 – Propeller and propeller hub

The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.

Other NTSB records under UNREG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time