Independence State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Independence, Oregon 97351
Friday, November 2, 2007 15:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Just after liftoff, the engine was not able to develop sufficient power for the initial climb. Although the engine never fully ceased operation, it was only able to produce partial power. The pilot stated that as the airplane reached about 2,000 feet down the runway he considered aborting the takeoff attempt, but the airplane was too high for the remaining runway. The airplane entered a spin and the pilot attempted to recover, which resulted in the airplane impacting the ground in a flat attitude. An examination of the engine revealed no mechanical or electrical malfunctions that would have precluded the engine from normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a spin and collision with terrain

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/2/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Independence
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97351
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445201N
Event Location Longitude 1231153W
Event Location Airport Independence State Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 7S5
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 180
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1530 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID 7S5
Elevation of weather observation facility 180
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23501
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 2 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-PDX-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N232PM
NTSB Number LAX08LA025
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 Interplane
Aircraft Model XJ
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3543
Certified Max Gross Weight 1260
Aircraft Category Airplane
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0.7
Airframe Hours 80.1
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John M Pongracz
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Independence
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97351
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 7S5
Departure City Independence
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 7S5
Destination City Independence
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 16 2008 4:49PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 2935
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --