SEA05CA027
2004-12-18 · Everett, Washington, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport PAE
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control immediately after takeoff. A factor was the wake turbulence from the preceding airplane.
Factual narrative
On December 18, 2004, at approximately 1245 Pacific standard time, a Breit, Zodiac CH-601-HDS, amateur-built, experimental, N826JB, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain following loss of control in the air during departure from Paine Field, Everett, Washington. The private pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, received minor injuries. The flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local, personal flight, that originated at approximately 1230 from Paine Field. The pilot had not filed a flight plan. The pilot said he was performing a touch-and-go landing on runway 34L. He said that the tower controller had alerted him to the departure of a Boeing 777, and that he had at least 3 minutes separation. The pilot said that the landing was uneventful, but almost immediately after lifting off, his airplane rolled to the right and its right wing contacted the runway. The airplane came to rest on taxiway A-5. The right wing was bent and wrinkled; the nose wheel landing gear and the left main landing gear were broken; the engine mounts, firewall, lower longerons and forward fuselage were crushed and/or bent. The wind at Paine Field, at 1253, was 280 degrees for 4 knots. The pilot said he was performing a touch-and-go landing on runway 34L. He said that the tower controller had alerted him to the departure of a Boeing 777, and that he had at least 3 minutes separation. The pilot said that the landing was uneventful, but almost immediately after lifting off, his airplane rolled to the right and its right wing contacted the runway. The right wing was bent and wrinkled; the nose wheel landing gear and the left main landing gear were broken; the engine mounts, firewall, lower longerons and forward fuselage were crushed and/or bent. The wind was 280 degrees at 4 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2004_SEA05CA027.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control, wake turbulence, turbulence). All research papers
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Aircraft wake turbulence minimization by aerodynamic means
The paper reviews NASA's efforts on wake vortex turbulence minimization by aerodynamic design or retrofit modifications to large transport aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Wake Turbulence Mitigation for Arrivals (WTMA)
The preliminary Wake Turbulence Mitigation for Arrivals (WTMA) concept of operations is described in this paper. The WTMA concept provides further detail to work initiated by the Wake Vortex Avoidance…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Aircraft wake turbulence avoidance
Aircraft wake turbulence /trailing vortex systems/ avoidance during flight, describing procedures for pilots and tower operators
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper Aircraft wake turbulence progress and plans
Aircraft wake turbulence and trailing vortices, investigating physical characteristics, hazard potential and avoidance techniques
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article Wake Vortex Turbulence — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary wake vortex turbulence comprehensive article — generation mechanics, dissipation factors, separation standards (ICAO LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/SUPER + recategorisation RECAT-EU).
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.