Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
North Plains Glider Port Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
North Plains, Oregon 97113
Sunday, July 3, 2005 16:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he was performing an engine off landing to the west, with a three to four knot tailwind. The pilot stated that the approach was normal until final approach when the airspeed indicator suddenly indicated a drop in airspeed to 20 mph. The pilot initially thought that it was wind shear or a stall and pushed the nose down and closed the spoilers. The airspeed indicator then indicated 70 mph and the glider's descent rate decreased. Because of the decrease in descent rate, the pilot now determined that his airspeed and altitude were too high for a safe landing on the airstrip. The pilot opted to land in an open field with tall grass adjacent to the airstrip. After making the decision to land in the field, the pilot, in an attempt to stay aloft longer, tried to start the engine even though he was aware that operating procedures did not recommend it. The pilot stated that he left the cowl flaps closed, left the fuel off because he believed that there was enough fuel in the system to start the engine, and he left the propeller feathered so as not to increase drag. The engine did not start and the pilot continued with the off airstrip landing. After flying over another glider and tow plane on the ground at about 10 feet above ground level, the glider suddenly stalled, dragging a wing and impacting the ground hard in a field next to the airstrip. The glider completed about a 120 degree turn before coming to rest. The field was covered with about three foot tall grass. In a subsequent written statement, the pilot reported that in May 2005, during stall testing, the airspeed indicator dropped to 20 mph and then jumped to 70 mph. After this event, the pilot had the line and airspeed indicator inspected. During this inspection, a couple of drops of water was found at the bottom of the drain plug. The line was cleared and there were no further problems. The pilot reported that the glider is kept outside and under a tarp. The pilot reported no anomalies with the airspeed indicator during the hour flight prior to the accident. The pilot also reported a lack of training in certain emergency procedures that might have helped him in preventing this accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during landing. Inadequate emergency procedures training and high vegetation were factors.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/3/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1615 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | North Plains |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97113 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 453715N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1230100W |
| Event Location Airport | North Plains Glider Port |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 210 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18668 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 3 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 27 2005 6:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Portland, Oregon |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N12HS |
| NTSB Number | SEA05LA137 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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 | Scheibe |
| Aircraft Model | SF-28A Tandem-Falke |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 5757 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1350 |
| Aircraft Category | Glider |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| 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 | Mar 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 545 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Colin D. Lamb |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Newberg |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97132 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | North Plains |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1515 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 12 2005 12:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 270 |
| Runway Length | 2000 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |