Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Wakonda Beach State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Waldport, Oregon 97394
Friday, June 13, 1997 10:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot landed at an airstrip that was designated as a 'Warning Airport' by the Oregon State Aeronautics Division. The remarks section of the Oregon Airport Directory stated '...landing to south and takeoff to north not recommended.' Also, there were signs at the airport that warn against taking off to the north. After landing, the pilot taxied back to the south end and initiated a takeoff to the north. The wind was reported to be variable and gusting to 20 kts. Reportedly, after liftoff, the aircraft entered an area of shifting/unfavorable winds and was unable to climb fast enough to clear the tall trees off the north end of the runway. Near the departure end of the runway, the pilot turned about 20 degrees to the left to fly over an area where the trees were not as tall as the ones directly off the end of the runway. About 200 ft past the departure end of the runway, the aircraft impacted a power line running to a local residence. In a postaccident interview, the pilot stated that he had not stopped to make pre-takeoff performance calculations or to evaluate the wind conditions from outside the aircraft before attempting the takeoff.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation to ensure he could execute a safe departure in the meteorological conditions present at the time. Related factors included: the unfavorable/variable/gusty wind conditions; and a power line near the departure end of the runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/13/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | WALDPORT |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97394 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | WAKONDA BEACH STATE |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | OR04 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 41 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Witness |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 901 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 13 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1145 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1438T |
| NTSB Number | SEA97LA138 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-28-140 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7225516 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2150 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 14 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 63 |
| Airframe Hours | 3363 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FISHER, MARK W. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2525 NE DOUGLAS ST. |
| Aircraft Owner City | NEWPORT |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97365 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | OR04 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | ONP |
| Destination City | NEWPORT |
| Destination State | OR |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 34 |
| Runway Length | 1900 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |