SEA84FA023

1983-11-26 · EPHRATA, Washington, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EPH

Aircraft involved

N98567 Cessna 304A Serious

Factual narrative

THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A HILLTOP DURING A MISSED APPROACH IN IMC WEATHER. THE ACFT WAS ON AN IFR FLT PLAN. THE PLT STATED VISUAL CONTACT WAS EST AT ABOUT 2000 FT MSL BUT GROUND FEATURES WERE MASKED IN SNOW. WHEN THE PLT DID NOT SEE THE AIRPORT AT THE PROPER TIME HE COMMENCED A MISSED APPROACH AND THE ACFT STRUCK THE GROUND. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE OBS(VOR COURSE INDICATOR) WAS SET ON 222 DEGREES INSTEAD OF 202 DEGREES FOR THE PUBLISHED INBOUND HEADING. THE RESULTANT COURSE PASSED DIRECTLY OVER THE ACCIDENT SITE. THE ACFT WAS NOT OBSERVED ON RADAR BECAUSE OF ITS LOW ALT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_SEA84FA023.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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