Probable cause
The airplane’s descent into trees and subsequent impact with terrain for undetermined reasons.
NTSB analysis
Law enforcement personnel reported that several witnesses observed an airplane flying low and circling around a housing complex and nearby woods for a short time before it crashed into the woods. The airplane was located the next day in wooded terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The student pilot was seriously injured and unable to make a statement as to the circumstances of the accident before he succumbed to his injuries.
The owner/operator of the airplane reported that surveillance video revealed that the student pilot entered his building on the evening of the accident and took the logbooks and keys to the airplane. The owner reported to the county Sheriff’s Office that the airplane was stolen as the pilot did not have permission to be in the building or to operate the airplane.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR20LA279 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 19, 2020
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Quillayute, Washington
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Serious injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Night
Cessna 150
- N-number
- N11513
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1973
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- UNK
- Purpose of flight
- UNK
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.