NTSB CAROL · Event
Event SEA79FTA03
Registry · N4053Z
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-18-150
Year of manufacture
1963 · 15 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19940804
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4C20D
Registrant of record
SPOHNHOLZ RANDY K
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Historical record (pre-1982)
NTSB recorded this accident in the pre-1982 coded-field schema — structured fields rather than free-text narrative. Decoded codes use established NTSB single-letter taxonomies; cause factors remain verbatim pending the Form 6120.4 codebook lookup.
Aircraft
PIPER PA-18 · N4053Z
Damage
Destroyed
Craft type
Airplane
Classification
Accident
Light condition
Dawn
Weather
VMC
Phase of flight
DC
Operator type
D
Kind of flying
DY
Weather at impact
Sky
CLEAR
Temp
60° F
Aircraft history
Serial number
0000018-8056
Total time
1,952 hrs
Pilot
Certificate
Commercial
Total hours
950
Age
23
Investigator remarks
HIT OWN WAKE TURB WHILE CHECKING CATTLE.
Cause factors
- 64/A/08 A PILOT IN COMMAND DIVERTED ATTENTION FROM OPERATION OF AIRCRAFT Cause — pilot/personnel action
- 64/A/16 A PILOT IN COMMAND FAILED TO OBTAIN/MAINTAIN FLYING SPEED Cause — pilot/personnel action
- 84/J/1 J MISCELLANEOUS VORTEX TURBULENCE Joint cause
Decoded against the NTSB Form 6120.4 cause-factor codebook (ct_Pre1982 table). Each row shows the raw triplet, modifier (Cause / Factor / etc.), category, and specific code.
Source: NTSB pre-1982 historical archive. Docket
3 3098.
Source file
NTSB_1978_3_3098.txt.
Modern CAROL record on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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