Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board indicates the Cessna 340A from Chehalis last month experienced an in-flight loss of control followed by an uncontrolled descent.

The summary, issued yesterday, of the crash that killed two employees of Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute and their pilot on Oct. 25 describes radar data and pilot broadcasts as well as what the NTSB investigator found at the accident site.

A final report isn’t expected until late next year.

The wreckage of the six-seater airplane was recovered in mountainous terrain about nine miles northeast of Morton.

Killed were pilot Ken Sabin and technician Rod Rinta, 43, both of Chehalis, as well as ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Shenk, 69, of Woodland.

Transmissions that suggested the flight from the Chehalis-Centralia Airport to Lewiston, Idaho was anything but ordinary came only in the final two minutes before 7:40 a.m., according to the summary.

The pilot had requested and was granted clearance to climb higher than his assigned altitude, to 17,000 feet, according to the report.

Radar data indicated the airplane continued climbing until it reached a maximum of 14,900 feet at 7:38 a.m.

The report then continues as follows:

“About a half minute later, at 7:39:03, as the airplane was descending through 14,700 feet, the pilot broadcast that he was heading back to Chehalis.

The radar track indicated that the airplane had commenced a clockwise turn. Seconds later, as the airplane was descending through 14,600 feet, the pilot stated “… we’ve lost an engine.”

The airplane continued descending while turning in a clockwise direction, and by 7:39:48, it was descending through 10,700 feet. This was the last airplane altitude recorded by radar.

About 15 seconds later, at 7:40:03, the pilot stated “We’re losing it.”

This was the last transmission received from the pilot.

The airplane dropped off the radar while continuing its clockwise descending turn.”

The three men were on their way to one of Pacific Cataract and Laser’s offices. The plane had taken off about 7:30 a.m.

The radar track data recorded by the FAA and the communications between the pilot and the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center were initially routine, according to the report.

Sabin had filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, it stated.

The NTSB investigator was told by the operator’s chief pilot (not named and not Sabin) he had not received any information prior to the flight indicating any anomalies in the operation of the plane’s systems.

A light rain was falling, low clouds were present and it was not particularly windy on the ground where several employees of a logging company were working and heard the sound of a descending airplane, according to the report.

Wayne Pollack, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB’s Western Pacific Region, said earlier this week initial findings suggest the front of the plane was pointed downward when it hit.

The remote site, accessed off state Route 7, is on property owned by  West Fork Timber. Pollack, the investigator for the crash, was at the scene coordinating the recovery.

The summary noted no evidence of fire was found.

The summary describes the crash site on a steep, forested slope at 2,900 feet.

The impact crater was five feet deep, where fragmented portions of the cockpit and engine components were found.

Several hundred components were also found scattered on the mountainside. The debris field was 160-feet long and fanned out over a 45-degree arc from the main impact area.

All major structural components of the airframe and most engine components were located.

A notation with the NTSB report indicates it’s preliminary information, subject to change and may contain errors.

Pollack said Monday the final report won’t come until after the examination of some of the Cessna wreckage’s components which are being shipped to lab and manufacturer personnel around the country.

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This news story was corrected Monday Nov. 22, 2010 at 12:05 p.m. to reflect that low clouds were present and noted by loggers in the area prior to the crash. The initial story incorrectly reported there were no clouds.
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Read the preliminary report from the NTSB here

Read Monday’s story “Cessna crash investigation continues” here