Portland-Hillsboro Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hillsboro, Oregon 97124
Saturday, February 28, 2004 15:53 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that the Revmaster 2100DQ engine, a Volkswagen automobile engine modified for aircraft use, had just undergone maintenance work for a sticking valve and this was the first flight for the homebuilt aircraft following that maintenance. He took off in light drizzle, flew one circuit in the pattern and was climbing out for a second approach when he encountered heavy rain. The aircraft's engine began to run rough and the pilot applied carburetor heat but the partial power loss continued. He then received clearance to land and executed a rapid descent to a hard landing coming to rest near the midpoint of the 4,049 foot long asphalt runway. The temperature/dew point at the time of the accident at the site was 8/6 degrees Celsius respectively, and serious carburetor icing conditions existed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate evaluation of deteriorating weather conditions (increasing rain) and his failure to maintain the proper rate of descent on landing (long/hard touchdown). Contributing factors were carburetor icing conditions and rain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/28/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1553
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Hillsboro
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97124
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 453224N
Event Location Longitude 1225648W
Event Location Airport Portland-Hillsboro
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HIO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 204
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID HIO
Elevation of weather observation facility 204
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.2
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16423
NTSB Notification Source FAA HIO FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1610
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office HIO FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N143GJ
NTSB Number SEA04LA046
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Jerome
Aircraft Model Q-2
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 37
Certified Max Gross Weight 1000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 106
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jerome, Gerald M.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Milwaukie
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97269
Operator is an individual? Yes
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 HIO
Departure City Hillsboro
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code HIO
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 4 2004 5:44PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 20
Runway Length 4049
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --