Stearman Crash En Route to Fly-In Leaves 1 Dead

The pilot of the 1943 Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, 72-year-old Christopher M. Paulson, was seriously injured. Passenger Jed Paul Kelly, 45, was found dead in the wreckage. 

Photographs of the accident site taken by the Skamania County Sheriff's Office show the yellow and gray aircraft inverted and in a nose-down attitude in heavily wooded terrain.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Kaydet departed from the Enumclaw, Washington, area Friday morning en route to the Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum fly-in at Ken Jernstedt Airfield/Hood River Airport (4S2) in Hood River, Oregon. 

Paulson made a brief stop at Ed Carlson Memorial Field/South Lewis County Airport (KTDO) in Toledo, Washington, before continuing south toward Hood River as part of a flight of three Stearman aircraft making the journey together. They departed KTDO just before noon.

According to preliminary ADS-B data, the Kaydet was observed at an altitude of 1,800 feet on a southerly heading at 12:16 p.m. PDT. Approximately 15 minutes later, it turned toward the east and began a gradual climb, reaching an altitude of 2,700 feet.

During the flight, however, Paulson broke away from the three-plane formation, according to WSDOT. The other two aircraft made it to the destination, and when Paulson's Kaydet did not arrive within an hour and a half, they reported the aircraft missing. WSDOT got the call at 3:05 p.m. and immediately launched a search.

The ADS-B report of the missing Kaydet showed the aircraft reaching an altitude of 2,600 feet with a ground speed of 43 knots. The aircraft continued to climb and the ground speed diminished until it reached an altitude of 3,000 feet and 43 knots before it began a rapid descent.

According to map data, the elevation of the terrain in the area where the last ADS-B readouts were received was between 2,500 and 3,000 feet msl.

Using cell phone and radar forensics, authorities determined the aircraft's flight path ended around 1 p.m. in a location approximately 12 miles northwest of Stevenson, Washington. The wreckage was found in rugged terrain in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There was no post-crash fire.

"The U.S. Coast Guard out of Astoria [Oregon] had a rescue helicopter and crew, as well as Skamania County ground search-and-rescue teams, located the crash site, where they were able to hear a man's voice," WSDOT said. "The plane and its occupants were discovered at 6:20 p.m. in the forest's trees, down a steep ravine."

Paulson was transported to Portland, Oregon for medical treatment, according to the Skamania County Sheriff's Office.

Agencies assisting in the search included Skamania County Search and Rescue, U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, National Civil Air Patrol Radar and Cell Phone Forensics Teams, Washington Air Search and Rescue, and WSDOT personnel.

According to FAA records, Paulson holds an airline transport certificate and multiple type ratings, along with a valid medical certificate.

The FAA, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and Skamania County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the accident.

Meanwhile, the WAAAM fly-in over the weekend took on a bit of a somber tone as pilots talked about the accident, along with wildfire smoke in the area. Some pilots said the smoke had been so thick to the south that they had turned back.

Pilots at the WAAAM fly-in honored Kelly on Sunday with a flight of four Stearmans over the airfield in the missing man formation.