Deschutes River Dirt Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wasco, Oregon 97065
Saturday, August 23, 2008 16:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the pilot was landing on the airstrip, the right wing went up, the airplane drifted left, and the left main landing gear contacted a rock and separated. The airplane spun around and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot said he had landed at this dirt strip on several previous occasions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/23/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Wasco
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97065
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 452705N
Event Location Longitude 1205113W
Event Location Airport Deschutes River Dirt Strip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID None
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 --
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25110
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 25 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 22 2008 4:39PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2870D
NTSB Number LAX08CA280
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 Christen Industries
Aircraft Model A-1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1006
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 5 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 3608
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name James Petersen
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Prineville
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97754
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name James Petersen
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Prineville
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
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 --
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 No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Prineville
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Wasco
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 22 2008 4:39PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 800
Runway Width 20
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --